Lost
by Wedjatqi
Summary: John and Teyla are thought dead following a major accident, but in truth they are trapped on a dangerous alien world, with no hope of rescue and with only the clothes on their backs and each other to keep them alive. JT. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Ronon

**Chapter:** 1 - Ronon

**Spoilers**: S5

**Disclaimers**: I make no profit of any kind from this fic, please no suey!

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Ronon had known Sheppard had feelings for Teyla, but it wasn't until he watched Sheppard rush under the lowering hatch did Ronon realise how deep those 'feelings' really went.

Thundering after him Ronon ran as fast as he could, aware distantly that he was screaming at Sheppard. Teyla was at the far end of the observatory and had been injured and Sheppard was going after her. The lights lining the corridor through which Ronon ran began to flash faster and the wail of the alarms reached a new pitch of intensity. He knew he was too far away. The hatch door began to fall faster now as he raced down the long line of the alien corridor. But, it wasn't enough and in horror he watched the hatch slam down into place and a burst of escaping atmosphere told him the seal was set.

Ronon reached the hatch and slammed himself against it, staring through the tiny window through which he could see Sheppard's back disappearing around a far corner. He pounded his fists against the heavy bulkhead hatch and had no idea who he was shouting at through the shrill sirens blaring around him. The section beyond the hatch was failing and the section would be automatically detached from the failing station. And there was nothing Ronon could do except pound his fists against the metal door and scream out his anger. At what and who he was screaming his anger out at even he wasn't sure. Was he shouting at Sheppard to come back, to turn round and try to get back through the hatch? Was he shouting out his anger that Sheppard must have known he had no chance of getting down that corridor to Teyla and back before the seal shut permanently? Or was he angry because he wasn't with them?

The station vibrated around Ronon and finally he stopped his shouting and pounding on the door and he watched in horror as the other side of the hatch vibrated, shifted and abruptly broke away from him. Momentarily disorientated from the movement he looked out as the stars appeared around the detaching section which held his two closest friends. His family. The section drifted further away and beyond it stretched the anomaly, ready to devour the section as it had everything that got too close. Ronon hadn't bothered to remember the name of anomaly, only that it was a type of gaping black hole. And that Sheppard and Teyla were in that ejected section of the alien observatory and there was nothing he could do to stop them being pulled to their deaths.

The sirens became a distant holler to him as he rested his forehead against the thick glass and watched the section gather speed as it was pulled towards the blackness that awaited it. Sheppard had known he couldn't get to her and get back, he had gone in there knowing he was never going to come back out again. Ronon closed his eyes briefly at the sadness of that fact. That his friend had sacrificed himself for a woman who he loved but had never told. Ronon prayed then that when Sheppard found her in that section that she was alive and aware of his sacrifice.

Ronon became aware of someone screaming in pain and he realised it was him. He kicked at the hatch with such force that he felt something snap in his foot, but he didn't care. He thudded his forehead against the glass as he watched the small dot that held his friends falling towards the anomaly until eventually he could no longer see it amidst the blackness.

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TBC


	2. Rodney

**Chapter:** 2 - Rodney

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He didn't know why he kept visiting the observatory when it had been the scene of one of the most painful events of his life. When the anomaly had killed Sheppard and Teyla. When he had failed them.

The observatory was stable now, but it hadn't been when they had found it. Then it had been at risk of falling into the anomaly which it had been built to observe. But, he had been too slow to stabilise it. Everything had been against him; time, the system, the fact that he hadn't been quick enough. He had won out over the failing alien computer system eventually but it had been far too late. Perhaps that was why he kept volunteering to help out at the observatory station, because he wanted the system working perfectly, so no one else would have to die.

Or was it for those long painful hours at night whilst he stayed there when he stood looking out at the anomaly that had killed his friends? Why did he persist in lingering for so long at the portholes when he should be sleeping? Jennifer had suggested he was still grieving, but Rodney knew the truth; he felt guilty and in pain. Not since Carson's death had he felt anything like this and at least with Carson they now had a clone version of him that filled some of that painful loss.

But, Sheppard and Teyla were gone.

Until the pirate arrived.

The man appeared one day out of the blue, or rather out of the black of space. His ship docked at the observatory and he was brought to Rodney to tell his tale. He was a member of the Travellers society, but did not live as part of their main convoys. In Rodney's mind he was clearly a pirate; out to grab what he could and most likely out to make profit. However Rodney didn't care once he heard the pirate's story.

The anomaly was not a black hole; it was the entrance into a pocket of self contained space time that was folded in on itself. The pirate's ship had been pulled in there some time ago, but he had been able to escape. He was offering up all his information and scans on the pocket as barter. Woolsey gave him everything he wanted within reason; medical supplies, food, information, a guided tour around Atlantis (with his very own Ronon shadow to watch over him). In return he had told his story about his trip into the anomaly and he had allowed them to look at his readings from inside the pocket and to study the extra drive he had interfaced with his ship's engines to escape.

So instead of staring out at the anomaly now Rodney was pouring over the scans and the pirate's MacGyvered engine for hours on end. The pocket was unlike anything ever seen before and the readings were difficult to understand, but one thing was immediately clear; there were habitable planets inside the pocket. That fact alone was why Rodney had been allowed so much leeway in spending every hour he could deciphering the scans and the engine.

If the section of the station that Sheppard and Teyla had been in had landed on one of those planets…then they might still be alive. The pirate reported that only two of the four planets in the pocket were habitable and those two worlds were practically barren waste lands. The scans also suggested something else; that the pocket might open up not just into the Pegasus galaxy but elsewhere which meant that the planets inside the pocket were populated with the hungry angry survivors from who knew how many ships that had been pulled into the pocket from any number of galaxies.

Which was another reason why Rodney was being assisted in his obsession to save his friends; the pocket might represent a new method of travel between galaxies. That however meant little to him as he threw himself into understanding the pocket and the pirate's engine. The new drive appeared to be made from many different pieces of technology that clearly had belonged to different ships. Rodney had to wonder how the pirate acquired them and whether their former owners had been around to protest. That was if the pirate had created it in the first place, which he was beginning to doubt.

And to add more insult to his already long list of injuries since stepping foot on the observatory, the pocket was out of temporal synch with the rest of space time. Which meant that once again Sheppard had managed to get trapped somewhere where time was against his rescue. Though, in a small dash of luck the difference this time was far less. The pirate had experienced what Rodney estimated to be a year inside the pocket, but once freed his people had informed him he had only been missing for half of that time.

Which meant that time was against Rodney, as was the painful fact that the odds that Sheppard and Teyla had survived were ludicrously low. If they had survived entry into the pocket through the unstable anomaly then they still had to have enough oxygen to reach orbit of one of the habitable planets. If they had managed that then the section had to survive re-entry and no doubt a crash landing. If they had made it that far they had no food or water and were stuck on a planet where life was competitive and violent. All of that meant that even if Rodney could find a way of saving them they might have already died a very long time ago.

With that depressing thought always on his mind, he strove to understand the technology and the confusing scans of the pocket. And he tried to deny the fact that the pirate probably escaped more from luck than from anything else, because that was unacceptable. He had to find a safe way in and back out of that anomaly.

He wasn't going to fail them again.

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TBC


	3. Teyla

**Chapter:** 3 - Teyla

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When the third member of their small group of survivors had died they had had to leave him lying out in the open sunlight. For the rest of the day as they had climbed the terrain and she had still been able to see the body. The last of the small community that had helped them out of the crashed observatory, pulled them from the shallow lake. She had no idea how long they had been cared for by those people, only that her leg had been strong enough again when the attack had begun.

The length of the days and nights varied constantly here; one day would be short, the next long, there was no constant to the passage of time. The single sun that lingered overhead was always pale and always behind a thin layer of cloud, creating days that were always warm, and varied only in their length. So, she had no real way of knowing how long they had been with that community or how long since they had left the ruins of it behind.

Their Earth weapons had been what had saved the two of them and three others, but the bullets had been spent and they had only knives and their own fists as their defence since. The last person who had raced away from the community's destruction with them had died from his injuries and his clear malnourishment. Her last thought directed towards the distant decaying body before their path took them out of its sight was to thank and to apologise to him and his people. If the hunting party had not found their crashed section of observatory would they have attacked the group? Though on this world fighting, killing and hunting were common place. They may have been attacked anyway.

With no idea as to the passage of time from then onwards she had no idea how long ago it was since they had abandoned that last victim. She and John had had to move on alone through this barren world with only a weakly growing tree that supplied the basic nutrients to survive. There were large insects that could be eaten, but it took time and teamwork to kill them and they had to wait patiently to hunt them, which put them out in the open where others could see them. When they did so they became vulnerable and they had been attacked more times than she had bothered to keep count.

Their home was ever moving as it was the safest way. They used caves in the rocky hilly landscape as their home at night. During the day they would move on through the pale light to find food and water as they could as they kept moving through hostile territories.

Their uniforms made them stand out against the rocky ground and as they were still in a reasonable condition, and their boots were strong they became even more of a target. They stood out as 'new' and therefore were assumed to have some supplies that could be stolen off them. That she was also a woman was an added problem. There were entire hunting parties of men who had long since forgotten what it was like to be touched by a woman, or to behave in any kind of civilised way. They hunted for food, water and sex, and some didn't care if it was a male or female they found. She could not remember ever having fought so violently against another human being in her life as she did when a hunting party came across them. She and John had been forced to use their fighting skills to their deadliest outcomes. That neither of them had sustained any serious wound yet was a miracle, but how long that luck may hold out was something not to dwell on.

Some of the groups they passed by were happy to just cautiously and defensively watch them pass. Others took the opportunity to try to steal and kill. She wondered sometimes if some of the more wild vicious hunters had begun to eat human flesh, for the savagery and inhuman desire to kill was terrifying.

She spent half of every night on watch and she never relaxed during that time. When it was her turn to sleep she dropped into a deep sleep of pure exhaustion born from the instinctive need to replenish energy and nothing to do with relaxing. She dreamt of Torren constantly and her nightmares had begun to merge with her waking life to the point where she hated to sleep, for it provided no rest from their hellish life.

As they walked through territories unknown they kept silent, using hand signals to communicate and at night it was best to never talk for the sound would carry through the still atmosphere of this world. She lived in a constant state of agitated awareness and after a while that tension and stress had begun to numb her, leaving her hyperaware of everything and unthinking. She observed the world around her, ready for anything, simply watching and ready to react. She was also hyper aware of where John was at all times and even a tiny movement of his body told her that danger was near, or in which direction they should run. She watched the landscape with eyes that noticed every minute detail of movement, anything that was even slightly out of place jumped out at her. She was living on her nerves and her instincts and she wondered how long she could survive like that. How long either of them could survive.

And then there were the fights and in those moments she could surrender herself to the fire of violence, to the instinctual skill to protect herself and to never submit. Her greatest fear that she would even acknowledge to herself was that something would happen to John. They protected each other's backs constantly and she was aware that he protected her with a fierceness she had never seen in him before. But she knew that she did the same for him.

Life here was violent, instinctive and short. She had no idea how long they would survive and had long since stopped worrying over it. She simply lived from one moment to the next, constantly on alert and constantly aware of John.

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TBC


	4. John

**Chapter:** 4 - John

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He hated this world and he had no idea how they had survived this long. Everything was against them; the situation, their lack of supplies, even the stupid sun was unreliable. He had been living off his nerves for who knew how long now; time meant nothing here and everything blurred around his constant state of focus.

He looked down at his watch with amusement; it meant nothing. Time flowed in its own way here. Where before they had used their watches to define their lives, now that seemed foolish. When the sun rose they called it day, when they were hungry they ate and when the sun set they turned in for the night. The basic cycles of life were all that existed. The only true hint to the passage of time other than the changing scenery around them was in the growth of his beard, which every few days he scrapped away. He had also become aware of Teyla's cycle, for there was no real privacy in their lives now. They lived in each other's pockets. The only time he turned his back on her was when one of them hid away to answer the call of nature. He didn't keep count of her cycle though, it didn't seem to matter how long they had been here anymore; all that mattered was where he was at that moment and staying alive.

In every direction was the potential for attack. Every sound had to be noted, every shadow in the distance studied. Life was a constant agitated state of defence. There was only one fact and that was to stay alive, to keep Teyla alive. And as the days, as they were, passed his life from before felt like a dream of pure luxury. Some days he wondered if this was a dream, a nightmare that he was stuck inside that was never ending. A nightmare that had not offered him one single moment to properly relax.

When he slept he relived the stresses of the day and oddly had begun to relieve moments from his past. In those dreams he relived the end of his marriage, the horror of what had happened in Afghanistan and the final fights with his father. He dreamt of Antarctica, felt the loneliness that he had craved so much back then and when he woke it was to the bleak lonely world of violence. Despite the pain of what had happened before it was nothing compared the hell he lived in now. At least in the past everything he had done before had a reason, be it a screwed up mistake or whatever, but there had been choice on his part. Here, life had been reduced down to where he was stepping and what his senses told him about the ever changing, unending alien world around him. There was no room for anything else and so he let it all go.

In the quite moments of night as he stood guard he wondered if he had run into that section of the observatory to feed his self destructiveness, or perhaps his need to prove himself and to make that ultimate sacrifice; as if that would make up for the past. He didn't fear dying, he never had, but he knew he would happily sacrifice himself for those who were important to him. Teyla was one of those people and silently at night as he looked out at the landscape he listened to her steady breathing behind him and he was especially glad he had run into that section, for she would have been here alone otherwise. He needed to protect her and that constant demand to protect and to defend was a very real drive in his belly that forced him onwards. Not once did he want to stop and give up, not once had he wished to pause and take their chances where they were. He strove to keep going until they were somewhere safe, and perhaps that would never happen, but he would keep on going anyway.

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TBC


	5. Woolsey

**Chapter:** 5 - Woolsey

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He had only visited the Observatory once before and that had been for the remembrance ceremony in honour of Colonel Sheppard and Teyla. He had given a speech which had brought a tear to a few eyes. He had spent days writing that speech, but as he had stood up there and had seen the desolation in his people's eyes he had spoken more from the heart.

Yes, he had been pleased with his speech, for it had been his way of honouring the two. He rarely travelled with the teams, rarely ever had to put himself on the line as they did almost daily, but he understood and appreciated all that they did. What Colonel Sheppard and Teyla had sacrificed and he knew that without them the universe was a far poorer place.

So when the news came in that there was a chance that they were still alive he had immediately assigned as many people as necessary to the task of rescuing them. He had worked the system as well as he could to enable Dr McKay and his people the time and resources they needed to solve the puzzles they needed in order to bring their people home. That had been over two months ago.

And now today he was back in the observatory looking down at the bay below, watching what the IOA termed 'resources' at work. Dr McKay was in the thick of his workers, shouting and muttering as he made his way around the bustling groups of technicians and scientists he had commandeered.

'Allocation of resources' had been the title of the latest message from the IOA. They were questioning the use of Atlantis' resources and in truth he was surprised it had taken this long. 'Allocation of resources' was a battle cry wrapped in the shiny bureaucratic paper of legal and military terminology sent from someone sitting comfortably back on Earth. They had had enough and buttons were being pressed. And he had responded with his own report full of bureaucratic camouflage to try and buy time, but he knew McKay wasn't as close as he needed to be. The new drive was in pieces across the bay floor behind the Jumper that McKay had also commandeered. The latest test had been a failure, though Dr McKay had called it 'progress', which was just another form of camouflage.

Sighing he turned to the steps that led down to the bay. He would talk to McKay before he made his changes. He would make sure that this project still had high priority, but he couldn't let McKay assign so many people to it anymore. It would have to be scaled back and that should buy them some more time. But, McKay wasn't going to like it. Hell, he didn't like it.

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TBC


	6. Kanaan

**Chapter:** 6 - Kanaan

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His son was sad. The depression was not obvious to all, but to Kanaan it was clear. Torren was still so young that there was no way to explain to him what had happened, that Teyla would not be returning. Kanaan could not even share the grieving ceremony with him, for he was far too young. He had taken Torren to the ceremony with his people, hoping that the boy might understand on some deeper level, but he had only cried there as he had at the observatory ceremony. He missed his mother and it was understandable.

Yet, the months had passed and Torren still remained quiet and unhappy. Kanaan had decided that he might miss Atlantis so had returned to stay in Teyla's quarters and that had helped somewhat. Yet, Torren remained unhappy. It was painful for Kanaan not only to see his son like that, but that it was a constant reminder of the empty space which Teyla had left. But he had to move on and so took his son back with him to their people and he poured himself into working in the new settlement.

Then the news arrived that Teyla might not be lost. He had rushed to Atlantis only to discover that the chances were in fact slim and that any rescue would take time and much of Dr McKay's genius. If she had survived the terrible situation they had explained to him then she was stuck on a world that would be a living nightmare for her.

If anyone could survive in that place it was Teyla. But, he could not live in constant hope. He had a son to take care of and his people to help in building a stable home. So instead of looking over Dr McKay's shoulder he returned to his people, trusting that Atlantis would tell him of any news. The days passed and he worked hard, trying not to think too much about Teyla. Ronon kept him updated about Dr McKay's research during his visits, but there sounded like there was little advance. What was there to do but move on with his life, whilst he waited and in all chances it was unlikely that she still lived.

It took months for him to finally admit to himself what it was that really bothered him, what he was trying to ignore. That she might be in danger or in pain was enough to worry him, but he was embarrassed to finally admit that what made him most anxious was that if she was alive then she had been alone for a very long time…with Colonel Sheppard.

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TBC (and finally onto some action….)


	7. Teyla 2

**Chapter:** 7 - Teyla

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The attack was sudden and violent as they often were, but this group were different. They attacked in a planned precise way that Teyla was pretty sure had been instigated by the leader of their group who stood watching the fight. His face was lined with vertical scars which he had painted over with red clay. He looked like he had been clawed down his face though she had to wonder whether the scars had been self inflicted. That was the only thought she could spare the leader for the fight was on and it was perhaps the worst she and John had come up against so far.

These men fought with clear skill that told her they had been properly trained, most likely before they found themselves on this world. What was also different from most of those they fought was that they appeared to want to capture them rather than simply to kill them. That had given her and John a slight advantage.

She felt the breeze behind her back as John swung out and she heard the man attacking him grunt and hit the dry ground behind her. She lashed out at her closest attacker with her knife cutting into the muscles of the man's arms as he reached for her, blood spurted out and he fell back away from her screaming. His friend stepped in immediately unfazed by the blood pouring from the other man. He struck out at Teyla, but she blocked his arm with her forearm and sliced out at him from beneath their locked arms. He pulled himself back just enough to avoid her slash but she stepped closer to him and buried her other knife into his side.

Behind her she heard similar sounds of pain, but knew none of them came from John. He was grunting with the effort though, small angry cries escaping him as he fought the six men who were trying to over power him. Teyla dropped the last man who tried to grab her arm and she moved to assist John, who they appeared to be focusing most of their attack upon. A sudden sharp pain impacted her left thigh startling her and her weight went out from under her. She cried out in fury as her knee hit the ground and she looked down to see a makeshift arrow sticking out of her outer thigh.

"Teyla?" John screamed over the cries of the man who staggered away from John clutching at his bleeding shoulder.

"A flesh wound." She reported, hoping that that was true, as she looked in the direction the arrow had come and found herself watching the leader and one of his lackeys rushing forward towards her.

She got her legs under her, but she had lost one knife. She could see their intent in their eyes; they were planning to try and drag her away as John continued to fend off the remaining three men. She gripped the knife hilt backwards, the blade lying along her forearm and swung out at the leader's lackey as he reached her. He swung at her with what had been the bow that had fired the arrow now a resident in her body. She used her forearms to block his wild swings with the thin wooden bow. She pushed against one side of it which exposed him from behind it and she struck out with the knife, slicing out at him and cut a deep wound through one of his cheeks. The leader struck out then, reaching out under his man to pull the arrow out from her thigh.

The pain blazoned so intensely that she couldn't help falling down towards the ground again as she cried out. Her vision blurred and her breathing caught as the pain crested, but then drained away enough for her to breathe and look up. The leader launched him self at her, knocking her fully to the ground, pinning her under his heavy weight. She had lost her knife so instead punched hard into his side, but she was blocked from hitting higher at his head. She twisted her body, kneeing up at his legs and he buckled slightly as she did, which opened up some space to free one of her hands and she slammed it up under his chin.

He smiled viciously as he resisted her attempt to force his neck back to breaking point, the thick cords of his neck holding his head in place. He laughed at her and twisted his legs to separate hers under him and caught her other wrist squeezing and pressed it to the ground, squeezing the bones together. She cried out and released her push against his chin and as his head headed back down towards her she head butted him. Her impact was just off and she didn't succeed in breaking his nose, but she heard him yell out in pain. Then his hand was on her thigh and his palm pressed against her open wound.

The pain laced through her again and her vision dimmed for a moment, through which she saw a tunnelled view of the man leering down at her. Before she heard John's furious shout and watched the leader's head snap round to a forcefully unnatural position and he slumped forward over her.

John reached down and with a grunt of disgust helped her shove the leader's body off her. She took John's outstretched hand and let him haul her to her feet and he trapped her against his side as he pulled her along with him away from the site of the fight.

He had been injured as well she realised judging by the bruises across his forearms, though she couldn't see any flowing blood, but her thigh was bleeding, leaving a trail as they struggled to get away from the piles of groaning men they had managed to overpower. Those that were still alive would follow them soon enough, especially once they realised their leader was dead.

She studied her thigh as best as she could as they hurried on; the bleeding had slowed and the pain had also lessened. The bow that had fired the arrow had looked weak and she suspected the arrow had not embedded too deeply into her and it was her outer thigh; nothing vital had been hit. She clung onto John's back from her position up against his side and looked over their shoulders and saw the hunters were hot on their trail and there were at least six of them still able to fight and they did not look happy.

They made it to the ridge before the hunter's shouts made it clear they were not going to be able to run any further; all they could do was choose the ground on which they faced them. She pointed to the area to the right where the ridge rose up that would protect their backs and they ran on as best as they could to the place, turning towards the bloodied angry hunters.

She stumbled as she turned and John reached out and shoved her behind him as he literally growled at the men that were fanning out to encircle them. She leant part of her weight against John's back to stabilise herself, using him as support as she pulled out her remaining knife and watched the men, angling her body around John as much as she could. John backed up some more and she steered him by the back of his belt around a rock as they moved into the best defensive position they could against the wall of the ridge.

So, this was it. They had survived the impossible; falling through that anomaly, survived the fall to the planet and then had wandered wildly through this dangerous world for what had most likely been many months and now this was it. They were bruised, tired and outnumbered.

She lifted the knife and prepared herself for what was to come.

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TBC


	8. John 2

**Chapter:** 8 - John

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The eyes of those encircling them were full of blood, of lust and violence. John shifted himself backwards just a little bit more so he could feel more of Teyla against his back. The light shone off the knife in his hand and the one held by Teyla. They had gathered a few knives and sharp objects over the past months, but had now been reduced down to only one each. Before this world he would have berated himself for losing those weapons, but he didn't care about that now; there was only the now and what he was facing. In truth he had been surprised that they had survived this long, and that living so purely off his instincts had served him so well. However, right now his instincts told him that the odds were not good and that he was unlikely to be alive in five minutes time. If that was the case then he was going to take out as many of them as he could first so Teyla can get as far away as possible.

He tightened his grip around his knife as he kept his eyes on the contracting semi circle around them. He was aware of where Teyla touched against his back; her hand on his left shoulder, her left hip against his backside, her shoulder against the right side of his back as she faced off the men from around John's side. He wanted to support her some more, but he needed both his hands free, and besides she was already using his back as support. There was nothing to do, but wait for it to begin. He tensed further, his body coiled ready to strike.

A blaring noise echoed from the ridge behind them startling them all, but John never took his eyes of the enemy. The sound sung out again and this time John recognised it as a horn of some kind. Those encircling them appeared to recognise it though and paused, looking up to the ridge. The horn rang out again, closer this time and John jerked at the sound, more adrenaline flooding his system. Great just what they needed; more trouble.

But, to his surprise the hunters before him began to back away, their eyes still on the ridge. John didn't question it, didn't have to ask Teyla to look back and see what was going on up on the ridge behind them, she was already moving against him to look.

"Others." She supplied. "Cleaner clothes. Calmer." Was what she reported and it told him a hell of a lot.

John kept his gaze on the hunters though the urge to turn and look at the potential new threat from behind clawed at him. But, he couldn't give the hunters an inch or they would take advantage of it. However, they were still retreating though, a couple sneering back at him as they did, until finally with another blast of the horn they turned and headed off. John watched their retreating backs, surprised but still battle ready, until they disappeared in the distance around the large boulders behind which the fight had started.

"They're gone." John reported to Teyla, but he kept his gaze on the line of rocks, just in case.

"These ones are approaching." Teyla reported softly from behind his shoulder.

John risked looking round and saw the cleaner clothes and cautiously calm expressions on the newcomers' faces. They walked down one side of the ridge, moving with experience along the path. They did appear more relaxed and their expressions were more open than the usual people they came across. Still he and Teyla shifted, their bodies sliding against each other's keeping contact as they turned together facing towards the new people, keeping in a defensive position.

"We mean you no harm." The first male of the new group offered as he lifted his open empty hands. John's attention was drawn to the series of old scars across his hands. Some of the fight went out of John at that, but still he couldn't afford to be lax.

"Thank you for your assistance." Teyla said. It was odd to hear such kind words spoken from her again; they usually only spoke to shout at hunters, warn each other and yell out during fighting.

The approaching group stopped a polite distance away, and John noticed they were cautiously watching him. He didn't care that he was clearly still in an untrusting defensive posture; they needed to see that he was still a potential danger if they tried anything. A lifetime ago he would have tried to be more polite and accommodating. Not any more.

"I see that you may need more assistance." The man said as he pointed to Teyla's bloodied leg.

Teyla moved slightly away from John, but he moved with her, unwilling to allow any opening. "If you would offer us some water it would be appreciated." She said with that friendly polite tone that he hadn't heard in a very long time. It was a soft gentle tone that was oddly calming for him to hear.

"We can offer you a place to rest and assistance in seeing to your wounds if you wish." The man offered.

"Who are you?" John demanded.

The man smiled, apparently pleased that John was able to talk. "Our ship was pulled into this anomaly many many years ago. We were fortunate that enough of our systems remain intact to have a renewable source of water and some basic medicines. Many have joined us in the camp and our community is quite large. We are willing to share our food and water with others."

"And in return?" John asked.

"We all work to protect the community. Those who attacked you have been a grave problem for some time. Their leader has set his sights on our camp and it has been most difficult to keep them away. We have lost many and any more assistance would be greatly appreciated."

"Would that be the leader with the facial scars and mud on his face?" John asked, his voice still raw and full of warning.

"Yes." The man replied clearly surprised no doubt that someone had faced the 'leader' and lived.

"Well he won't be a problem for you any more." John replied sarcastically.

The group all looked at each other. "That is some good news. We thank you for that, but no doubt there will be a new leader among them soon enough."

"They probably won't be too happy with me." John added. It was the closest he could come to being polite enough to say that he and Teyla would be a liability in their camp.

"They are angry with anyone and everyone. They steal and kill and rape without thought." The man replied the bitterness overriding his politeness. He looked off to the distance in the direction the hunters had vanished and John looked over his shoulder tensing up further again.

"It would be wise for you not to remain here much longer. If you would like assistance then you are free to follow us." And with that the group turned and headed back up the ridge.

John paused, silently asking Teyla what she thought without a word exchanged between them.

"Our water supply is almost out; we need water and to get away from those hunters." Teyla answered.

John nodded looking at her and then down to her leg. She had some weight on it, which was good and the bleeding had stopped somewhat. She needed to be cared for. It could be a trap, but as he looked up at the ridge and watched the new people walking away with their backs to him he considered that it was worth taking the risk. So they followed the new group up and over the ridge and saw for themselves what was beyond.

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TBC


	9. Zelenka

**Chapter:** 9 - Zelenka

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The observatory bay was quiet and empty apart from him and the scattered, precisely laid out pieces of the alien drive. His shift had ended many hours ago, but he had remained here working on the drive. It still refused to be powered up for longer than a few seconds. When one part of it powered up another part collapsed. It clearly was an interlacing of various technologies that where perhaps nevern really compatible. That the 'pirate' had used it successfully was a minor miracle in Radek's opinion. And that use had clearly burnt it out. Rodney was convinced that it could be powered up again, but they were working with technologies that they hadn't seen before. One thing had become clear though; the 'pirate' hadn't built it. Sighing and shaking his head Radek reminded himself to stop using Rodney's nickname for the traveller; if Mr Woolsey heard it he would not be happy.

Radek looked up at the observation platform that overlooked the bay. Last week Mr Woolsey had appeared from up there and had delivered the news that the project was to be scaled back. Rodney had not taken it well and had all but ignored the order; working long nights on the drive. Dr Keller had had to drag him out of the bay this evening, resorting to the threat to take him officially off duty for medical reasons.

So Radek had remained in place of his friend, his colleague. He scanned the platform above cautiously, but saw no sign of the expedition's leader watching him. He was nervous, for he wasn't sure what Mr Woolsey would do if he knew Radek was working overtime on the project still and he feared that Rodney would be the one blamed.

Happy he was alone in the wide bay he turned his attention back to the small pieces of crystal from one part of the drive. The outer casings had been burnt out again. He sighed heavily; that would take some time to replace and he didn't have the time for that tonight. He placed it down in its correct place on the floor by his knee and looked out at the mostly disassembled drive. This project had been fascinating at first, but had fast become frustrating. This drive held the key to rescuing Colonel Sheppard and Teyla. Though there was the very real possibility that they were no longer alive, but no one on the project, in the city, said that out loud.

They had been unable to find any kind of computer or central processing unit to the drive. It appeared to simply create a variation to an engine's output or shielding which would enable the ship to pass through the anomaly that was the guardian in and out of the pocket of space time. The problem was that they couldn't get the drive to fire up long enough for it to do anything to the output of the Jumper. Radek looked up at the ship towering over him in the centre of the bay. He had suggested a long time ago that perhaps the drive had simply only been able to work once, that perhaps it had been designed that way. Yet, that also begged the question who had designed it and why hadn't they used it themselves to escape the anomaly since the pirate had found it inside the pocket?

Rodney believed the pirate had stolen it, perhaps even off its original designer. The pirate had long since left Atlantis and the observatory, and when he had been further questioned he had simply said he had found the drive and had added a few extra pieces himself to escape the anomaly. Radek doubted that, for if Rodney and their team hadn't been able to understand the drive he had to wonder if the pirate had been able to.

Radek reached for the next crystal and sighed again. He was very concerned about Rodney. He hadn't taken the loss of Colonel Sheppard and Teyla well and now he had been unable to solve the puzzle of the drive after months of trying. Rodney did not have an ego that took failure well. The casing of the crystal in Radek's hand was also damaged, so he placed it down with the other one and looked at the broken unwilling pieces of alien technology. It was a shame they couldn't simply build an entirely new drive. If they only knew clearly what it was supposed to do, how it should interact with the anomaly…

A new question entered his mind then. The person who built this had obviously known what he or she was trying to make. They knew what it needed to do, how it would react with the anomaly. What kind of person could create something like this? He looked down at the scattered pieces around his knees, each piece laid out in a precise place so the section of drive could be accurately placed back together. The silence of the empty bay seemed excessively loud as his thoughts began to coalesce into an idea. He knew this feeling, for he had it quite often working on Atlantis; an answer was drifting just out of reach and something deep inside him knew it.

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TBC


	10. Teyla 3

**Chapter:** 10 - Teyla

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The camp that stretched out across the plane behind the ridge held more people than she ever would have imagined could have been trapped on this world. The camp contained broken pieces of crashed ships that had been engulfed into the sea of fabric tents. Overhead towered the largest piece of intact ship, its spires extending up over the camp, whilst its belly was buried deeply into the ground. Parts of it had broken off and had been assimilated into the camp rather like buildings in a town.

As they followed their rescuers down into the camp and along a street between the tents, cautious, nervous or suspicious people watched them pass. John had one arm around her waist assisting her to walk, but his other hand rested on the hilt of his knife at his belt. Her own knife sat within inches of her hand if she needed it.

It felt surprisingly strange to be back among people, let alone such a large number. The smells of the settlement were both pleasing and disturbing. The smells of people was comforting, the scent of what smelt like tea, the chatter of people and the very existence of others around her felt good. But, this camp was clearly made up of other people living on the edge of survival and despair. The eyes that peered out at her from the tents told her they had seen as much violence and horror as she had. However they might be clustered together for safety, they still didn't trust anyone. She had heard that certain predator animals could smell the scent of fear. If that were true then this place would stink of it. Everyone either remained huddled away in their tents or stood ready almost challenging for a fight as they passed by.

They turned down another 'street', now heading directly towards the main ship. Ahead she heard the musical calls of children and she peered forward looking for them, only to see them dashing away into a tent, their eyes full of fear. Her heart ached for her son. As she and John passed the tent Teyla looked into the darkness to see wide young eyes looking up at her, only to be hauled back further into the tent by a woman who stood in front of them aggressively glaring at Teyla as she passed. Life here might be more secure than being out in the wilds, but the same fears existed.

With a strange sense of sensory overload Teyla kept moving along the path towards the ship. She was used to being alone with John and all these eyes watching her all at once were setting off her instincts and her nerves. A part of her simply wanted to find a corner into which to press her back ready in case she needed to defend herself from these strangers. Danger could arrive from any angle here, nothing was clear.

They arrived at the ship's entrance, though in truth it was more of a hole that had been cut into the side of the ship. They stepped through into a narrow pale blue coloured corridor. To one side people filed past on their way out of the ship, as they passed she noticed that they had clean bright skin as if they had just washed and the thought of clean running water entered her mind; the benefits of the camp once again outweighing the negatives in her mind.

A wide door stood at the far end of the corridor and they were waved inside into the crowded room beyond. They were told a nurse would see them soon and afterwards they would be shown somewhere they could stay. John nudged her towards the closest wall and she moved slowly through the tight crowd of people. The feeling of claustrophobia hit her for the first time in her life and she forced aside the feelings of panic from being surrounded by so many people. John shoved someone out of her way as she reached the wall and she didn't turn to apologize as she would have done before, instead she made her way along the wall until she reached a corner of the room and turned her back into it. John was right with her, his eyes wide and cautious, his hand still on his knife. He turned his back to her, standing between her and the rest of the room. She leant back against the cool wall of the corner and supported herself further with a hand against John's back.

They remained like that for some time, both quietly observing the room, twitching at any sudden movements of the sea of people crushed into the room. Occasionally an argument would break out across the room, everyone clearly on edge. She studied the people and saw the same wild nervous twitch to them all; all of them had been through terrible things and though they were apparently safe in this camp no one was letting their guard down. And neither were her or John.

Her leg began to ache some more. She had tied a strip of her shirt around the wound and that had stopped the last of the bleeding, but the pain of the damaged muscle was suddenly more apparent. She wondered if it was because she was calmer and the natural ability to suppress pain was lessening as she relaxed slightly. Or perhaps it was because she and John hadn't had any proper rest in so long. The fight today had been vicious and she could feel the ache of her muscles and the bruises no doubt decorating her body. She looked down at John's closest arm and saw a large purple bruise over one side of his elbow.

A woman appeared through the crowd, her clothes suggesting a uniform and her manner was one of a nurse. She stood before them and asked for details on Teyla's injury. Teyla could feel the tension in John's back as he watched the nurse asking her questions. The woman asked to see her thigh, indicating the floor. Teyla let go of John and crouched down to the cool floor as best as she could as the nurse opened a case filled with medical supplies. The nurse moved slowly and carefully around John as he stood over Teyla keeping guard still.

Teyla settled her back against the corner and the relief of taking her full weight off her leg was wonderful and she laid back allowing the nurse to cut open her trouser leg slightly and clean the wound. As she did the nurse explained everything she was doing before she started; she clearly had plenty of experience dealing with people on edge.

John towered over them as he looked down every now and then, but he kept most of his attention on the room around them. The nurse squirted a yellow coloured liquid over Teyla's wound explaining that it was a powerful antibiotic that they cultivated from their crops and apologised that she couldn't use any numbing medicine before she began to sew a few stitches into Teyla's leg. Teyla looked away from her leg, her eyes returning to studying the crowd of people. The nurse's gentle chatter about the basic food crops they grew in a hydroponics bay and the wash rooms they could use were informative, yet Teyla was far too used to watching out for potential trouble to talk back.

Before this world she would have talked with the woman, taken the opportunity to learn about these people and their camp. Now however, all she could think about was that she was currently on the floor and she felt vulnerable. She watched the crowd around John's steady presence. How strange was it that for so long she had wanted somewhere where she could feel more relaxed? Now they had possibly found that, it actually felt far too overwhelming and she wanted nothing more than to be alone with John again.

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TBC


	11. John 3

**Chapter:** 11 - John

**Note:** Slightly longer chapter than normal, but there was much to say and I didn't want to break it up. I need to get onto the rest of the story :)

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It felt like a refugee camp, but then he guessed that was what it was. He and Teyla were refugees here. He remembered refugee camps back on Earth and they had never been places you wanted to stay for long. However now this camp offered more protection than they had had in a very long time and he told himself to be grateful. However, he couldn't help the distaste in the back of his throat, or suppress the nervous agitation that clambered through his veins as he pushed his way through the alien corridor. The floor was tilted at a very slight angle, but then the ship that they were currently walking through like it was a high rise building, was buried into the ground at a slight angle. He had admired both the design of the ship and of the clear skill of the pilot who had managed to land it. Though pieces of it had been sheared off, for the most part the ship was intact, or at least the sections he had seen as they had filed through the corridors.

He felt rather like a sheep following along with the crowd down the corridor towards what was promised to be washrooms. A part of him wanted to pull Teyla with him back out into the open and to find a nice foxhole somewhere. But, that would have to wait, for now they had the opportunity for a wash and the small section of Teyla's leg he had seen whilst the nurse had worked on her, had been blood splattered. And he liked the idea of being clean again. They hadn't been near a safe water source to bathe in for a while.

The crowd parted slightly to reveal a junction and Teyla nudged at his back in the direction of the two doors that led into what smelt like washrooms. The fresh scent of running water and soap was recognisable and instantly he felt a thrill. But, then he noticed that though not marked in a language he could understand, the doors were clearly his and hers. He hated the idea of being separated from Teyla. What if she was attacked in the washroom? What if they couldn't find each other again afterwards? He knew the thoughts were rather foolish and so he pushed them down as they moved towards the doors. Her hand tightened on his arm before she moved off towards the ladies' entrance.

He waited a beat to make sure no one suspicious had followed her and then turned to the men's entrance. The usual facilities were supplied, but what stood out was the artificial waterfall that fell from the ceiling covering two walls of the main room. Men were showering in the falling water, using a thin liquid soap that was dispensed from the wall itself. John stood to the side and took in everything; that there was only one visible exit, that no one appeared to be a threat here and decided that he would risk it. He pulled off his clothes and washed quickly. He dried off in front of large warm air vents that lined another wall and quickly pulled his dirty clothes back on.

As he did he looked up and discovered a small row of mirrors set at eye level. He barely recognised himself for a moment. There were dark areas under his eyes and he looked like he had a serious suntan. And his hair was longer. He had tired to cut it back as it grew, but there was only so much he had the skill or time to do. With a frown he dismissed his appearance and left the washroom.

Anxiously he waited in the junction area for Teyla to reappear. The constant movement of people around him keep his nerves sparking for a good few minutes until he spotted her exiting the ladies. He met her halfway and they turned to follow the flow of people out of the ship.

Again like a sheep he moved with the crowd, with the herd. One of the group who had saved them from the hunters noticed them and led them out into the camp outside to show them where they could stay. He pointed out an area of tents that had been cleared out and said they could stay anywhere that was free. John knew what 'cleared out' meant; it meant the previous occupants had been killed, most likely by hunters.

He and Teyla made their way through the tall fabric tents until they found one that held the best defensive position and privacy, or as close as was possible. They headed inside immediately and pulled the heavy tent flaps down and without talking both sat at the far end of the tent from the door and watched it silently.

John was aware that adrenaline was still coursing through his system. He felt tired, wired and nervous all at once. A sleeping mat took up most of the tent's floor space and he had the urge to just lie down and sleep. Teyla shifted beside him and he looked round at her instantly worried about her. She looked tired as well, but that wasn't anything knew. He looked down at her blood stained trouser leg and sighed out loudly.

He pulled on her closest arm and when she looked at him he jerked his head towards the sleeping mat. She resisted his pull for a moment, but as it was their usual routine to take turns sleeping she nodded and crawled past him to lie down on the mat.

Outside someone was shouting and John reached out and caught hold of Teyla's arm again as she was settling down and they both looked towards the tent's entrance; waiting, nervous and ready for action.

John listened to the male voices arguing outside and he waited until their tone and volume diminished before he lessened his hold on Teyla's arm. Teyla settled down on the sleeping mat in front of John as he remained seated, his gaze locked onto the entrance.

Hours passed perhaps, but all John was aware of was listening to sounds outside; people moving around the camp, talking, arguing and some crying. He could hear a couple having sex a few tents away and in another a baby was screaming for food. Eventually the camp started to quieten as the light level began to drop, but with that darkness the atmosphere of the camp changed as well. The voices he could hear outside were whispered and tense, people scurrying through the camp afraid of the night. He guessed the hunters tended to attack this camp at night.

As time passed fluidly around him he simply sat and listened. Night properly arrived and the camp quietened almost completely. He could hear Teyla's soft regular breathing as the only sound now and he dropped his eyes from the tent's opening down to her sleeping in front of him. She was lying on her side away from him, facing the entrance with her wounded thigh uppermost. His eyes slid down the curvaceous lines of her shoulder, hips and legs. They had survived for so long together and finally he felt that they really could rest for a while. A part of John rebelled against that thought though, for to relax was to invite an opportunity for attack. At least that had been the mandate by which they had been living, which had kept them alive and he didn't feel like he was quite ready to let go of that control just yet. This camp was full of far too many people, too many frightened people packed together for it to be safe. He wondered if some of these refugees had been part of hunting parties before, had they been killing before they became the hunted themselves?

The image of that leader pressed down over Teyla returned to John's mind and he felt the anger rising again. He felt no shame or regret over snapping that man's neck; that creature had been about to rape Teyla, before he no doubt had planned to kill them both.

Teyla stirred and he looked down at the mat as she rolled over onto her back, rolling her shoulders. It was the first relatively comfortable surface that she would have slept on in a very long time. He wondered how it felt. She opened her eyes and looked back to the entrance. Through the dim light he watched as she did what he had been doing; listening to every minute detail of sound, assessing threat and safety.

John released his hold on the handle of his knife that had been in his hand all evening. He sat up onto his knees and moved towards her, extending one arm over her until his upper body was leant directly above hers. He knew what he wanted and part of that was to properly feel this connection that had grown so strong between them over these past months. He had stood guard over her like she was his woman, fought off men who would take her from him and somewhere along the line he had surrendered to his desire for her. He wasn't sure if she had noticed the physical reaction he had been having around her, for perhaps she had been too busy staying alive. When he fought off hunters and walked away with her he had wanted her. He had watched her fight with a fire that burned in his own belly and he wanted to share that fire with her. He wanted her and only now that everything around them was more stable did he allow himself to want it for real.

She pulled her eyes away from the entrance, looking up at him with a questioning look that became slightly surprised before it drifted back into her usual cautious watchful expression. Her eyes shone in the darkness and he kept his gaze locked with hers as he lifted one of his knees up over her closest leg and rested it down into the small space between her knees and then nudged his other knee in beside it. Her legs parted slightly creating just enough space for him.

Her jacket was parted around her neck and he leant down into the warm heat of her throat and inhaled her scent, so much clearer after her wash. One of her hands slid around the back of his neck and a burst of relief made way for the rest of the raw emotions he had been keeping at bay. He settled down over her resting on his forearms as he lowered his body down over hers and pressed his groin against hers. She shifted under him, finding a comfortable position for herself against him. He slid a hand down to her hip and pulled her tighter against his arousal and she made a small groaning noise.

He pressed his mouth to hers without any lead up, pushed his tongue into her mouth, wanting what she was offering with a desperate need. For too long had he been tempering his arousal and desire for her. She didn't protest his speed and need as she met his kiss with equal eagerness. Aware that his control was far from his reach he didn't even try to reel it back in; instead he surrendered to what he wanted and the wonderful lure of her body. He ground himself against her and her legs came up around his hips in response. He groaned into the kiss as her hands slid between their bodies and pulled at his belt.

He sat back from her, sitting on his haunches between her legs and worked to remove the clothing from her lower half. Her hands slid under his shirt, her fingers stroking his stomach and hips. Once he managed to pull her trousers and underwear roughly from her he wrapped his hands around her hips and pulled her backside up onto his thighs, pulling her groin up against his.

He leant down over her again, enjoying the way she was caught up under his body, her heat against him. He covered her mouth and the kiss was nothing but carnal desire. Her hands had parted his belt and fly and she was pushing his waistband down over his hips. He sat back up from her again, pulling back just enough from her to pull down his trousers enough and free himself. When he looked back down at her she looked briefly to the entrance again to make sure they were safe, but John was far beyond being able to focus on anything but her.

As he leant down to kiss her again he reached between them and pressed his fingers straight to her core. She moaned at that around their kissing and he hastily rubbed his fingers over and into her, reading her as quickly as possible. She was just ready enough so he pressed himself against her entrance. She lifted her hips and he slid slowly and a little uncomfortably into her. But, she didn't tense, she didn't pull away, instead she pulled him down over her again, widening her legs and finally he was all the way into her. He paused and groaned with the sensation and she wrapped her legs tightly around his back.

He began to thrust into her as her hands slid up his neck into his hair. With her backside on his thighs the angle was deep and satisfying and he held himself over her as he gripped one of her hips to help her move with him. She was softening more now, the passageway easing and he kept up the rhythm, fighting against his desire to finish it all too quickly. Groaning he sped up his movements and her nails grazed over one of his arms and over his hip. She uttered a guttural sound of pleasure and she rocked her head back, her eyes were closed with the pleasure that was clear on her face.

The urge that gathered in his lower back forced him into her faster, needing to feel all of this, to satisfy what he had wanted for so long. Her nails bit into his hip again and he groaned, or had he growled he wasn't sure. It had been so long since he had felt anything other than fear, anger, aggression or tempered arousal. Now he felt it completely, allowing himself to let that arousal flare up and engulf him. The lure of approaching satisfaction glowed in his groin.

She tightened her hold on him then, pulling herself up from the sleeping mat and up onto his lap. He caught her back, assisting her upright so that now she sat astride him, looking down at him as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, one of her hands tightly gripping his hair. That broke some of what he had been feeling. Her mouth pressed gently against his as he slid one forearm up her back under her clothes. Her lips brushed his again and he stopped moving. Her mouth opened over his, her tongue seeking entrance, but this time it was with more feeling, more awareness. He met her kiss, sinking his tongue into her warmth, slowly losing himself in the kiss and the wave of raw arousal was banked for a moment, as he simply kissed her, gently almost, as they remembered who they were once again.

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TBC


	12. Keller

**Chapter:** 12 - Keller

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The lab was as busy as usual as Jennifer eased her head through the open door. As was also usual Rodney stood at the core of it all, his people moving around him as he worked, as they 'assisted' him. What was not usual, though truthfully it was becoming so, was that Rodney was working quietly.

She entered the room, moving around the busy scientists towards him. They all nodded to her, but she saw the same look in their eyes as ever; everyone was worried about Rodney. It wasn't that he was yelling, making a fuss or even complaining; in fact that was the problem. He was deathly quiet. He ordered people around still, but it was with a seriousness and quiet tone that suggested his mind was really elsewhere.

She stopped by the main workstation behind the table on which a device sat, Rodney and his people working on it intently. She knew this was a device the Travellers needed some help with and Rodney had been assigned the project to get it up and running asap. Judging by the satisfied looks of everyone, and Rodney's especial lack of ordering around, she guessed they would be finished soon.

But the real project was nowhere near being completed, she knew that. The real project that occupied Rodney's mind unceasingly; to get the drive working to save Colonel Sheppard and Teyla. He lay awake at night silently thinking about it. He would often jerk away from her in the middle of the night to scribble something down as a new idea came to him. But, despite his many ideas and those of the rest of Atlantis the drive remained uncooperative. That didn't stop Rodney working on it though, in fact she suspected that right now he was worrying over it even though he appeared hard at work on something else.

She didn't understand the intricate design of the drive that would not work for them, that refused to let Rodney rescue his friends. But she did understand how important it was to him and she certainly understood that it was taking its toll on him. He always looked deathly tired now and rarely slept. She had found him in the lab on so many occasions when he should be asleep or worse in a meeting. Mr Woolsey had cut down on that, but in truth the new quiet Rodney was more worrying for her. He did not take failure well and he especially was not taking the loss of Colonel Sheppard and Teyla well.

Jennifer rested her hip against the corner of the table and watched him working. She had also begun to worry that even if the drive did start working and they made it into the anomaly but the Colonel and Teyla were dead; how would he take that? She was deeply concerned that he would blame himself, taking on the ridiculous responsibility of their deaths. People often thought Rodney didn't care about people, but he did and right now he was caring to the point of making himself ill.

Last night she had dragged him away from the observatory and back through the gate to rest. He had lain in bed beside her and apologised to her once again, as he so often did, about the way he was behaving. She understood, but she worried for him. For her part she had come to terms with the loss of the Colonel and Teyla, for it had been five months now since they had been lost. If they were miraculously returned to them it would be wonderful, but she had accepted that they may not.

Ronon wasn't handling it too well either. At first he had stood watch as the scientists had worked on the drive, but as the months passed he had stopped and had thrown himself into missions with such gusto that he had caused several incidents off world and had now been forced to take some time off. He was currently training all day every day until he could return to work. Jennifer wondered if the two of them blamed themselves for what had happened. There had been nothing they could have done, yet they took on that weight of guilt. Survivor's guilt. It was painful for her to witness Ronon go through it, let alone Rodney.

He looked up and noticed her, a small sweet smile crossing his face. He placed down whatever it was he was working on and walked towards her. He was making an effort to make time for her and he had taken her threat to take him off duty seriously. As he neared his eyes strayed to the laptop on the table beside her. She recognised it as Rodney's laptop as his was the only one that no one else dared touch and it was a little battered around. He always had it near him now, booted up and working, for he recorded his own notes on the drive project in there, his own ideas and failures stored for his eyes only. Her eyes were drawn to a line if large numbers displayed in the top right hand corner of the screen. He reached her and she looked up and smiled at him.

"Hey." He said with a smile.

"How is it going?" She asked indicating the machine stretched out on the table behind him.

"Fine, though Radek's been off working on something else so I've had to do most of the work." He muttered. Months ago that comment would have been filled with sarcasm and complaint, now it was said quietly with a tone that suggested he wished Radek were here so he could work on something else. And she knew what that was.

His eyes strayed down to the laptop screen again and she found her attention drawn to the displayed numbers again. The screen had been facing him across the room so he must have wanted to see the numbers.

"What do these numbers mean?" She asked hoping to get him talking about something other than the drive project.

"It's my best guess at the difference." He replied looked slightly sheepish.

"Difference?" She asked.

He waved at the laptop screen. "In the pocket. Its how much time has passed for them."

She understood suddenly and looked back down at the numbers with renewed feeling.

"It turned ten months this morning." He added, though she could see that from the figures displayed. Her heart ached at the knowledge of how he was tormenting himself with this. She watched as some of the numbers abruptly changed; ten months and two days exactly.

She didn't have the heart to tell him to turn it off, but she had to say something. She opened her mouth unsure what she was going to say when Radek appeared through the door behind Rodney. He stopped, looking around the lab until he spotted her and Rodney and then hurried towards them, practically tripping over his own feet as he did.

"Rodney." He called as he made his way over; pushing his glasses back up his nose with one hand and clutching a tablet with the other. "Rodney."

Rodney turned with mild interest, but he had no time to say anything.

"I think I have an idea." Radek announced as he arrived by them. His voice and breathing was fast as if he had run here. "I was thinking last night; how would someone know precisely which frequency the drive needed to alter a ship's output?" Jennifer frowned at that working to understand what he was referring to. Rodney had no such problem.

"They probably had advanced sensors on their ship." Rodney suggested dismissively.

Radek moved closer, his tablet clutched against his chest. "If that were the case then surely other vessels would have escaped and why was the drive left in the pocket? It got me thinking; what if the person who designed this drive knew _exactly_ which frequency they needed to create and they had to be talented enough to cobble together such differing technologies."

Rodney seemed to understand where Radek was headed with that idea. "An Ancient? We've considered that before and even if it was an Ancient who designed it that doesn't help us."

Radek lifted his tablet. "I began to think about the fact that the anomaly is so unlike anything we have heard of in nature; so what if it was artificially created?"

"So what? Even if it was and I'm guessing you mean by the Ancient who built the device, then it still doesn't help us." Rodney replied his tone tired and slightly impatient.

"It does if the anomaly was part of Ancient research." Radek lifted his tablet. "I've spent most of the day going through as much of the Ancient database as I could on their experiments and I found this." He turned the tablet to Rodney, who took it with a curious look.

Jennifer leaned around Rodney to look for herself. The display was of what looked like a cone with a bubble at the far end. She frowned at it and looked up at Rodney's face to see his eyes were wide and there was sparkle in them once again.

"They created it." Rodney uttered.

"Yes, they were experimenting with creating bubbles of separated space time. Perhaps as part of creating more powerful ZPMs or perhaps it was as a defence against the Wraith." Radek added as he excitedly looked from the tablet to Rodney. "I don't know why they stopped, but maybe the designer of the drive was part of that experiment."

"So he or she knew precisely what they needed to create to escape the anomaly." Rodney finished as he tapped the tablet bringing up further information.

"Why weren't they rescued out of the pocket if they were part of a research project?" Jennifer asked.

Radek looked at her. "I don't know. Maybe they were and didn't have to use the drive, or perhaps the other Ancients didn't know they were trapped in there, or that that particular pocket existed. We may never know. But…"

"But it doesn't matter." Rodney looked up from the tablet and leaned down over his laptop and began tapping away. Jennifer could feel the buzz to the air and the growing sense of excitement. She realised that the sounds behind them had stopped and she looked round to see that several other scientists had been listening in. She turned back to Radek.

"How does this help us?" She asked.

Radek clutched his hands together and smiled patiently. "If we can discover what that frequency to escape the anomaly is from this research then we don't need the drive to work. We can build one of our own."

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TBC


	13. Teyla 4

**Chapter:** 13 - Teyla

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The light shone across the wide expanse of the plane behind the camp. Teyla adjusted the focus on the binoculars, squinting through the brightness. She pulled them away from her eyes and shuffled herself further forward across the metallic sheet that functioned as both a roof and as an observation post. The sunlight had warmed the metal beneath her, but not so much that it burned against her bare hand as she shuffled forward. John's hand tightened slightly around her ankle from where he stood below the roof keeping watch over her and making sure she didn't slip. She lifted the binoculars to her eyes again and squinted through them to the far ridges of rock.

A dark spot moved against the pale soil and rocks and then dipped out of view. She kept her gaze on that area for awhile, but the person didn't appear again, so she moved her focus along the ridges, seeing only one other dark point.

"I see only two scouts." She reported.

"It persists." The man next to John replied, his tone worried yet confident. "Several cycles ago they stood scout over our camp in great numbers and never worked to hide themselves. They liked us to see their strength and threaten us all from afar. Now they hide and sneak around."

Teyla lowered the binoculars and looked down at him. He was one of the camp's 'council' and he had led the group that had saved her and John before inviting them into the camp. He was a tall calm man, who held leadership well upon his shoulders. He was from a world that she had never heard of and perhaps was a world not to be found among either the Pegasus or Milky Way stars. His people owned the massive ship that supplied the camp's water, washing facilities and the small amount of medicine available. He looked up at her now with a worried expression, his strangely violet eyes full of all the possibilities that she and John had also conceived of on the matter.

"It is likely then that the change of leadership has altered their approach to the camp." She offered.

"There have been hardly any direct attacks on the camp since you both arrived, since their leader was killed." He looked away to the distant ridges again with his violet eyes. His name was unpronounceable for her and John so they referred to him quietly as 'Violet Eyes'. The sunlight caught the red tinges to his pupils as he looked back up at her. John's hand tightened slightly around her lower calf. Violet Eyes had made a polite offer to her some time ago to share a bed, as seemed to be the custom in the camp, and he had taken her rejection with good grace. John however had not.

Life in the camp was a place of trading and negotiation. Sometimes that negotiation was in the form of violence and they had both been involved in such fights. The first one had been when they had seen a young girl being tormented by some older children. Teyla had interceded and one of the bully's fathers had taken objection to her. She and John had had to fight off three others before the tussle had died down. The second fight had started when a young arrogant male had approached her for sex several times and when turned down again had tried to force her to agree. John had stepped in even before she had had a chance to turn the male down again. The fight had been brutal and she had had the impression that John had been looking for an opportunity to let off some steam and for all the other watching men to see. He had won quickly, but had sported some serious bruises for days.

It had taken them many days after their arrival in the camp to drop some of their restless anxiety. For those first days they had spent the daylight hours walking around the camp, learning where all the entrances and exits were to the expansive camp and where all the resources were. One corner of the camp was out of limits though. There was a virus here that was incurable and any who fell sick with it had to move into that area of the camp to limit infection until they passed to the Ancestors. They had seen the sick and dying in there from a distance, but the rest of the camp contained the usual mixture of people, though clearly they all came from a variety of worlds.

During those first days they had not talked to anyone, too on edge and agitated had they been. They had collected their water supply and the green tinged bread that was full of all basic nutrients and they would hide away in their tent as soon as it was dark. Again they would take turns on watch through the night, though each night at some point John would wake her to make love. And in those early days it had always been quick and with an urgency that the next day may be their last.

Once those early days had passed they had begun to relax slightly, though in truth it was only in the privacy of their tent or with trusted people like Violet Eyes that they did relax; but at least there were times to relax somewhat now.

She slid down the roof towards the waiting men and John reached for her to help her down. She didn't really need his assistance, but she knew he wanted to in front of Violet Eyes. As her feet hit the dry ground again she tucked the binoculars back into a pocket in her Atlantis issued vest. They had traded John's pair of binoculars for a change of clothes and a blanket. Before that they had lain naked through the nights, keeping each other warm. Now at least they had the luxury of a thin blanket, which John had boiled to near the end of its life before they used it.

She looked back towards the distant threat of the scouts. She had preferred being seated up on the roof, where the air was clearer and the sun warmed roof was warm under her. Back down in the 'street' of the camp she was once again feeling tense; the noises of all the people more apparent and the myriad of smells were unavoidable.

"They still attack hunting and harvesting parties though." Violet Eyes was saying and she focused her attention back on his words. "But, I have to wonder if that is more opportunistic." He muttered and she watched his nervous expression as he studied the ridges with his alien eyes. John's arm tightened around her waist and for the first time in a long time she felt a burst of amusement. Violet Eyes was a tall handsome man, but she preferred her John over any other man, but John seemed on edge as much with their new friend as he was with any other male near her in the camp. Not that Teyla hadn't seen the way many of the women had been staring at John, but none of them had approached him that she knew of. It was perhaps his intense protection of her that put them off. It was a satisfying feeling to know that they knew he was off limits.

"They're probably planning something." John uttered, his tone full of the seriousness of the situation and the weight of the knowledge that the camp would likely be attacked any day now. "A new strategy."

Violet Eyes turned to John and nodded. "That is what worries us. The previous leader of the enemy was at least predictable in the way he attacked."

Teyla looked out into the distance herself and her stomach turned briefly at the thought. "We can do nothing but ready the camp for a possible invasion. The more of our own scouts the better."

She and John had been part of several hunting parties already, hunting down the large insects for food and to cut down succulent trees for the camp. They had also sat as look outs during the days, but never during the nights; that was when they shut themselves away. It was too dangerous to be out in the camp at night. And it was their time to cuddle up with each other, both lying under their thin blanket, facing the entrance, staying quietly cautious as they listened to the camp around them. Trouble was on the way and they both knew it. She could feel it in her belly and as with everything on this world it was no doubt going to be fast, violent and fatal for many.

It was another few days before she began to get sick.

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TBC


	14. John 4

**Chapter:** 14 - John

**Note:** Another long chapter that I didn't want to have to break up (always seems to be the John chapters – can you guess who is my favourite character??)

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She had walked out of the Ladies washroom and he had known instantly that something was wrong. Her colour was paler than usual and her eyes were dull like she was deeply tired. He reached her through the crowd, pushing a few people out of the way to reach her. He didn't care about causing a fight right now all he wanted was to get to her side. By the time he reached her she was holding herself taller, visibly drawing in a steadying breath.

"What is it?" He asked. Her hand fell into his as he reached to touch her and she leant more weight onto his offer of support than usual.

"I do not feel too well." She replied. For many people that could mean anything, but for Teyla to admit something like that told him how bad she really felt. As he drew her along with him away from the washrooms he wrapped his arm around her and held her tightly against him. Once they were outside the ship she took a deep breath, but the air was far from fresh out here.

"Do you want to go to the infirmary?" He asked worried about her as he took in her paler complexion in the clear sunlight.

"No. I probably just need to lie down for awhile." She replied encouraging him onwards back towards their tent. He knew why she didn't want to go to the infirmary and it was for the same reason that made him want to panic. The virus started out as flu like symptoms and progressed slowly at first, but built quickly towards the end. He held her tighter against him as he moved especially quickly through the crowds to their home.

The coolness of the tent was a relief to him as they entered and he helped her lay down on the sleeping mat. She let out a rush of air as she settled down on her back and rested the back of her hand over her forehead.

"Do you want some water?" He asked softly as he knelt beside her.

She opened her eyes and blinked up at the water skin he held for her and after a moment's thought she nodded and came up onto her elbow enough to drink down some of the liquid. As she sipped he laid a palm across her forehead and was reminded of how much smaller she was than him. She felt a little warmer than normal, but that might be from her shower. She handed the skin back to him and settled back down with clear relief.

"Thank you." She offered as she closed her eyes again. John stroked his palm over her forehead a couple of times as he looked down at her.

"What happened?"

"I thought it was simply that the water was too warm in the washroom, but I began to feel worse as I dressed." She replied her eyes still tightly closed.

John thought back to last night and recalled that she had been restless and had thrown off the blanket rolling over away from him to sleep on her front, with only her arm against him. "You didn't seem to sleep well last night." He said.

"I felt overly warm and uncomfortable." She replied

Worry gnawed at him. "Maybe you just didn't get enough sleep last night." He suggested.

She opened her eyes and rolled her head slightly towards him and smiled slightly. "It has been very stressful on this world and I do feel very tired." He got the feeling that she was trying to make him feel better. "I think I just need a good sleep."

He nodded as he reached to help her pull off her vest and he pulled the blanket up over her. He stroked over her hair and she immediately fell fast asleep. It was probably that she had overworked herself and was really tired.

By the evening it was clear that it wasn't just that she was tired. When she woke she felt sick and dizzy. She sipped water and slept fitfully for the rest of the night. John sat by her all night, always touching her lightly in some way. He struggled not to let the sense of panic grow inside him. Part of him wanted to rush her straight to the infirmary, but he knew that she was worried as he was that she might have the virus. He sat back and away from her for a moment as he stretched his back and tried to ignore that thought.

Anyone who was suspected of having the virus was instantly quarantined and once it was diagnosed they were quickly moved to the virus section of the camp and its overwhelmed clinic. He told himself that she just had a cold, maybe some flu; some sort of alien flu that was harmless. Or maybe she had eaten some bad insect, or maybe it hadn't been cooked properly. But then they always ate the same thing and he felt fine. He leant back over her, gently touching her forehead again. She still didn't really have a temperature and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad. She stirred under his touch and he lifted his hand, not wanting to disturb her further.

She couldn't get the virus. What would he do without her? The panic began to win over his defences again and he drew in a deep breath to control the nerves that made him physically shiver. She couldn't be taken from him. For a flashing moment he was back in that observatory corridor with the hatch was closing in front of him, shutting her off from him.

Once they had been stuck on this planet he had fought alongside her, protected her back, done all he could for her as she had done for him, but he couldn't stop a virus for her. If only a Jumper would suddenly appear over the camp and rescue them. He could get her to Doctor Keller and she would do something. But, stuck here there was nothing to do but to wait and hope the symptoms would pass. He had never been very good at hoping.

The night drew on and she slept through most of it and he napped lightly, lying beside her with one arm over her to keep her warm. At some point she rolled onto her side and tucked up against him. He laid that way with her for the rest of the night until the early morning sunlight began to appear through the fabric walls of the tent.

She didn't feel right. He wasn't sure how he knew but he knew that something was deeply wrong. When she finally opened her eyes that morning she still felt sick and was dramatically so in the bucket he had managed to find for her. He held her hair back for her and spoke encouraging words to her, but inside he was back in his state of dread. Throughout their time in the camp he had heard people being sick in the nearby tents, a few of those neighbours had disappeared soon after. No; it was a flu bug that was all.

But, by lunchtime her paleness was really starting to worry him. She had gone from being slightly hot to very cold and huddled up in his arms shaking slightly. He struggled not to panic or to let the tears that threatened to fill his eyes win. He stroked her back whispering to her, speaking more that day than he had in all the months they had been trapped on this planet. He told her things he hadn't before; told her about Earth, about his past that he had not told anyone. Things he had feared telling her before, but now he felt a desperate need to say it now before it was too late. He hated himself for thinking that way, but the fear wouldn't go away. A part of him had always been surprised that they had survived this long and their chances of surviving had never been good. But, he had thought they would have been taken down by dehydration out in the wilds, or from a fight injury or from pure exhaustion. This was far worse and he hated that she was the one ill when he would happily carry it for her.

Once the light began to lower she was sick again and he held her again afterwards and made a decision. She had to go to the infirmary. They might have something to make her feel better and he couldn't risk her health because of their fear of her being diagnosed with the virus. They talked about it, but he had already decided. She was so tired that she tended to fall asleep every hour or so and when she fell deeply asleep he wrapped the thin blanket around her and lifted her up in his arms and carried her out into the night.

He walked through the camp's streets, the walkways empty as people were hiding away in their tents from the night. He had never been outside in the dark as it was a dangerous time, but the sky was oddly beautiful, the thin clouds always overhead seemed to glow with the last remains of the day's light. He turned a corner and entered the street that led to the main ship that towered over them and dredged up a forceful will from inside; they would survive this as they had everything else that had been thrown at them. And even if they couldn't then she needed him to be strong for her.

As he stepped inside the pale blue corridor of the ship he knew that if she had the virus and had to live in the sectioned off part of the camp then he would go with her; there was no question. The corridors were strangely empty, but the infirmary was busy. The makeshift beds that lined the floors were mostly full. A nurse looked up as they entered her eyes falling to Teyla in his arms and she waved them towards a free bed. John laid Teyla down on the thin plastic mat that was the makeshift bed, kneeling down beside her. She was wide awake and had her 'in control' expression on, though she still looked so tired and pale. The nurse came over with a medical case and knelt down on the other side of Teyla. John explained her symptoms quickly and efficiently needing to be doing something. The nurse took Teyla's temperature and felt her pulse. After that she took some blood and fed it into a strange little alien machine.

John looked around the room as the nurse listened to Teyla's chest and they talked briefly. At the far end of the room was the entrance to the quarantine area. Through the thick plastic sheeting John could see shapes moving on the other side which meant there was at least one person infected in there. He told himself again that she was unlikely to have the virus, that she hadn't been near anyone infected, but then if someone hadn't known they were infected…

The nurse sat back and picked up the blood machine and studied the small display set in its front that displayed the results instantly. John couldn't understand the language displayed, but he could tell from the display that several things were wrong with Teyla's blood work.

"Have you been eating regularly?" The nurse asked Teyla.

"I haven't eaten since yesterday, but before that I ate at least one meal a day that was available."

"Have you been eating the bread and the vegetable we grow?" The nurse asked as she opened up her case and pulled out a syringe.

"Yes, but mostly the insect meat we have been helping to hunt." Teyla replied her eyes cautious.

"Have you been craving it?" The nurse asked as she filled the syringe.

"A little. We weren't able to eat much before we arrived here and it has been satisfying to eat what we have been helping to hunt." Teyla replied.

The nurse leant down over Teyla's closest arm. "This is a full spectrum of nutrients for your system. You are very low on many of the most basic of nutrients." The needle slid into Teyla's arm and the nurse pressed the plunger down slowly. "I want you to eat more of the bread and vegetable."

A wash of relief went through John then; this meant she didn't have the virus didn't it?

The nurse looked up at Teyla's face as she put aside the syringe. "The little one will need it."

John leant over Teyla towards the nurse. "Excuse me?"

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TBC


	15. Rodney 2

**Chapter:** 15 - Rodney

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Rodney leant further into the tiny space, wedging part of his shoulder inside the small compartment and focused intently as he slid the leads and wires together. He muttered as he worked, the tight space far too restricting; he should have made the probes bigger, allowed more space for the delicate pieces that had to be added to the inner workings. Of course the reason why the probes were smaller was so they could be made faster and be more compact for their journey into the anomaly.

It had taken too long to get to this point as well, which he continued to mutter about as he worked in the claustrophobically small space; though in truth he knew that they could not have sped up the process any faster. Once they had had the go ahead from the IOA it had only taken him and Radek a little over a week to actually construct five probes. He had worked night and day and even Woolsey had stopped trying to get him to pull back his time. He felt like everyone in the city was waiting on him but so were John and Teyla and time was slipping away through his fingers like it was dust and ashes.

He had been angered by the IOA's decision to only allow five probes to be made. He and Radek had presented their theories to Woolsey, the project team and two important types who had listened in via the Gate. The Ancient research had been surprisingly full of holes and Rodney suspected the research had been born more from desperation than any real focus of the designers. The magic frequency they had hoped to discover from the research wasn't there, but there were enough clues for them to make some intelligent guesses. However, the IOA and the SGC were unwilling to let them simply fly a Jumper into the anomaly and then work out which frequency to use to escape. So they had allowed five probes to be made that could send back data as they passed into the anomaly; Rodney hoped that would be enough information for them to work out the counter frequency. They would then send in another probe with that best estimate and hopefully as it entered the anomaly it should disrupt it enough for them to know they had it right. But, of course if they hadn't got it right that only left three more probes to try again. Rodney would deal with that possibility later if necessary. For now, all he could focus on was that these probes would be finished today and they could finally start the experiment tomorrow.

All the leads slid fully into place and he sighed with frustrated relief as he pulled his head and arms out of the hatch of number five probe and stood up into the cooler air of the observatory's bay. The room was a flurry of activity around him, as it had been for the last week. Everyone seemed brighter and more enthusiastic, but Rodney knew that even if this still worked, then they still had to design a working drive to alter the Jumper's shield frequency. He had tried to start on some ideas, but the probe project was too important and he had had to sleep sometime, even if it was slumped over his laptop. When they got John and Teyla back he was going to sleep for at least a month straight.

He lifted the box of circuitry from the table next to him and slid it into the space he had just pulled his head out of; the last free space in the probe. It clicked into place with a satisfying sound and he set the hatch door over it and drilled the panel into place. That completed he stood back and took in the probe that stood several feet taller than him lined up beside its four siblings. They represented his best chance of rescuing John and Teyla. He wondered when he had stopped thinking of John as Sheppard or Colonel?

He turned and headed towards the table on which his laptop sat and his eyes immediately fell to the clock in the top right hand corner. Though, movement caught his eye and he noticed that Ronon was standing not far away, his shoulder leant against a wall of the bay. He looked like he had been there for awhile and the truth was Rodney really hadn't a clue who else was in the busy room around him. His eyes met Ronon's and they smiled briefly at each other. Rodney knew that out of everyone Ronon understood. He knew that this was still a slim chance at best and that even if they made it into that pocket, their team mates, their friends, might have been long past saving. But, Rodney needed to find out. If they were dead then he wanted to bring back their bodies and see that they were buried as they were due; with full honours, with full credit for all they had achieved over the years. He wouldn't let them die quietly forgotten and pitied.

He nodded to Ronon and then turned his full attention to the laptop and the schematics of the probes. Everything looked like it was finally working. All that was needed was one last systems check on all the probes and he could travel back to Atlantis to report to Mr Woolsey and request that the new experiment could begin tomorrow.

He didn't realise that Woolsey had been watching him and his team working for the past hour from the observation platform overlooking the bay, hoping along with Rodney that this would work.

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TBC


	16. Klauu

**Chapter:** 16 - Klauu

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The sun shone off the metallic hull of the ship set in the middle of the camp. Klauu adjusted the eye piece on his magnifier and squinted down its barrel at the camp. He studied the increased number of sentries around the exits and couldn't contain the wicked smile that crossed his face; they were afraid. And well they should be.

He lowered the magnifier and ducked down behind the large rock again. His scouts had been reporting back to him twice each light cycle and he was pleased with his plan. The previous Controller of their group had been foolish; throwing hunters at the camp succeeding in only a few kills, some supplies and if lucky some survivors. He had been of the mind to force individuals into the group to widen their numbers. Klauu had an entirely different plan; he didn't just want to snatch and grab from the camp, he wanted to own it. He liked the look of the vessels broken up among the tents; they clearly made good cover and he suspected they held technologies that would make his life easier. And now he was Controller that was what he was going to do.

He shifted ducking lower down behind the rock as sunlight glittered off glass at the edge of the distant camp; someone had spotted him. He pressed his chest down against the rocky ground and the Controller necklace pressed sharply into the thin skin over his chest bone. The group's tradition was that the first Controller had killed three life stealing monsters with his bare hands and had stripped their bodies of their hands and made the necklace from the bones as a sign to all of his strength and power. Klauu didn't care if that was true, he only cared that the symbol gave him the power he had been working long and hard to attain.

When the last Controller had not returned from a hunt, the fight had begun instantly for leadership, but Klauu had been planning for that eventuality for some time. He had worked his way up through the hierarchy and had used a tool that most of the extensive group were considerably short of; cunning. He had established small agreements and alliances with the other powerful members of the group over time until his place was secure. So he had simply waited until those most mad with the hunger for the new leadership had killed each other in the fights to be Controller and had stepped in calmly and murdered the one who had won out. The rest of the most powerful in the group had been associates of his either through past dealings, sexual favours, hunting colleagues or simply too afraid of him to stop him as he had torn the Controller necklace out of the dead man's hand and tied it around his neck.

Things in the group had changed after that. No longer would they waste time making petty small attacks on the massive camp; they would wait and build up their ranks until they could overwhelm the camp in one swift move and then it would all be his. He had set about destroying the neighbouring small groups, assimilating their hunters and young, until now there was only one massive powerful enemy group to compete with. But, he had plans for them.

Unlike his Controller predecessors his plan was to form an alliance with the enemy clan and he had been working towards that goal for some time now. They called themselves the 'Fang and Claw' which was a foolish title; fangs could be struck from even the most vicious creature and claws could be cut away and filed down. But, they would present a massive increase in hunter numbers. Of course once he had the camp he would kill off the Fang and Claw Controller and own it all.

Then early this light cycle his scouts had brought the news that the Fang and Claw Controller had been killed; they would have new leadership. If Klauu had predicted correctly either the previous Controller's female would be in charge or their strongest male hunter and if he was he was easily controlled by the female anyway. He wondered if the previous Controller had known that his female had been crawling into the bedspace of many of the males, perhaps that was what had gotten him killed.

Klauu had met in secret with her twice now to discuss a possible alliance as he had suspected her mate would not last long and he knew she would make a most excellent Controller, in fact she had most likely been leading her mate around for years. Klauu predicted the alliance would be formed eventually and when that occurred he planned to make sure that he enjoyed some of the controlling female's private company as well. It may take some time to form the alliance, but it would be worth it. He would succeed where no other had on this world before; he would control the largest area of the land and he could have anything he wanted and everyone would do as he wished.

He smiled viciously as he peered up over the rocks again and studied what would become his.

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TBC


	17. Teyla 5

**Chapter:** 17 - Teyla

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The nurse repeated the news for John. Teyla looked up at them from where she laid on the plastic coated sleeping mat that comprised the hospital beds. The chill of the mat seeped into her back through the blanket and her clothes. Reality shifted around her as she listened to the news again. Suddenly she was back in Atlantis' infirmary and Doctor Keller was telling her she was pregnant with Torren.

Her son's image returned to her mind with a forcefulness that was as equally as shocking as the new announcement. She had thought of her son every day and every night since she had found her self stuck on this world so far from him. When they had first found themselves on this world the pain of her son's loss had been so intensely powerful that she had had to suppress most of it, pushing it down deep into her heart so she could function and be able to think about him without the need to sob uncontrollably. Now that control was close to cracking apart and the overwhelming desire to cry tightened her entire body and she had to cough to cover the near sob that broke through.

The nurse mistook her pained expression as nausea, which wasn't too far from the truth, and moved away from them to return with a cup of hot water. She handed it to Teyla promising it was a tea that would help with the nausea. Teyla managed to sit up enough to be able to sip at it and the distraction helped her to gather her self. She focused on asking questions of the nurse, asking how far along she was.

The nurse reached for the blood testing device to study its display and as she did Teyla risked a look up at John. He was staring down at her belly with an expression of wide eyed shock, that any other day she would have found endearing.

"I would say that you are almost two of your normal cycles along." The nurse smiled gently down at Teyla.

Two months? Teyla hadn't even realised she and John had been in the camp that long. She remembered having a bleed a short time after they had arrived in the camp, but time here was so flexible and unpredictable that she had not noticed the lack of her normal cycle since. So much time had passed. Torren could be almost as much as a year older than when she left him. He would be nearing two years of age; he would be walking and perhaps starting to talk. The depression rushed up inside her and she busied herself sipping her tea and watching the dried leaves circle the cup. The tea was an odd mixture of sweet and sharp flavours.

John stirred finally, snapping out of his shocked trance as he looked across at the nurse abruptly. "Why is she so sick?" He demanded more than asked.

The nurse turned to him, her expression patient and compassionate. "She is malnourished." She looked back down at Teyla. "And I have seen it before with females who are carrying; the insect meat doesn't always agree with them though they may crave it."

"So she shouldn't eat it?" John asked.

"A little is fine, but not too much. The bread and vegetable contain all the essential nutrients that you need." She reached for her little electronic notebook. "I am putting you down for double rations for now onwards. I want you to return here in two light cycles and we will administer another injection of nutrients and that should hopefully bolster you enough to carry the little one." Teyla understood the extra emphasis to the words and the pointed way with which the nurse looked down at her; she might not be strong enough to hold the pregnancy.

Teyla nodded and placed aside the cup of tea she had finished; her stomach was feeling better already.

"Here is a bag of the dried leaves; you may drink up to four cups of the tea a day. It is best to drink it during the onset of extreme nausea." The nurse handed her a small fabric bag which Teyla took, opened and sniffed at the dry leaves inside.

"Do you want to keep her here?" John asked.

"No, you may return to your tent. You must rest, for several light cycles at least, preferably until your strength returns. If you have any pain return, but we will see you in two cycles." With that she smiled, stood and walked away on to her next patient.

Teyla watched her walk away and clutched the bag tightly in her hands. Across the room a mother sat with her child, rocking the toddler in her arms. Teyla's heart constricted again.

"You okay?" John asked gently from above.

She looked up at him, seeing the same shocked look in his eyes that she felt. She nodded. "I am tired." She moved to sit up, but John simply reached across her and wrapped the blanket back around her and she decided that walking would be too much work so she let him lift her up into his arms. She settled herself against his warm chest as they headed out of the ship and into the darkened night.

The desire to cry was still strong so she closed her eyes against the sight of the camp around them. The darkness didn't help her nor did the gentle warmth of John's body; she felt too vulnerable, too ready to cry over her grief. So she opened her eyes and looked past John's shoulder to the tents lining the street along which he carried her. Everyone was tucked away in fear. She looked up past the fabric and metallic cages to the dark sky. There were no stars here. She knew that had there been stars to look up at she would have been able to image she could see the star by which her son lived. She knew that would have been unlikely, but possible. She would have felt connected to him still. But, here she was denied even that.

John turned a last corner before they arrived at their tent. He ducked through the entrance and gently laid her down on the sleeping mat. She settled herself more comfortably as she adjusted the blanket to cover her.

"Do you want some water?" John asked as he knelt beside her. "Something to eat? I've still got some of my bread left." He added.

Her stomach rebelled at the thought, threatening the new peace it had recently found from the tea. She shook her head. "The tea was enough, thank you." She whispered back to him through the darkness, glad that he couldn't see her clearly. She had no doubt he would have seen her emotional anguish.

He moved away towards the water skins and she listened to him opening them. "I didn't get a chance to refill these today. I need to go get some water." He said worriedly through the shadows.

She finally looked his way, seeing his rough outline knelt by the skins and the bucket. "I will be fine, John. Everyone is asleep." She said with forced calmness. A part of her desperately wanted him to leave her alone for awhile, so she could release some of the tears that were threatening her ability to control them. But, another part of her didn't want him to leave her side; in fact that part wanted to throw her self into his arms and cry on his shoulder. But, he was as shocked as she was and she feared losing such control of her emotions in front of him.

He paused and she could feel his indecision, so she sat up slightly, though her body was weak and uncooperative. She reached for her knife, pulled the blade out of its sheath and held it tightly alongside the sleeping mat. "I will be fine and you will not be gone long." She said.

"Okay. I'll be right back." He replied after a beat and there was another pause before he disappeared quickly out into the night.

It was a strange mixture of relief to be alone and fear at being by herself that filled her once he was gone. She listened intently to the sounds from outside, heard John's boot steps disappear into the distance. No other sounds could be heard, except her loud irregular breathing as she worked to ignore her turning thoughts and focus on defence. Yet Torren would not leave her mind.

She had abandoned him. He would grow up without his mother, thinking she had died long ago. The rough grip of the knife's handle bit into her palm as she tightened her hand around it. She lifted the knife and set the sharp point of it down on the hard ground beside the mat, using it to leaver herself up some more as she tried to focus on protecting herself from any of the potential dangers that could arrive through the entrance.

She would never see Torren again.

She lifted the back of her free hand to cover her mouth as the first sob broke free. Her eyes watered beyond her control, compromising her vision and she wiped away as much as she could with her sleeve, still trying to watch the tent entrance. She hadn't allowed herself to cry over the loss of her son since those early days on this world. She had had to suppress it all away in order to focus on hers and John's survival. Yet, she couldn't hide it anymore; her son was really gone forever. The struggle to hold back the sobs and the long months of suppressed emotion became too much and she finally released her hold on her knife and slumped back down onto the mat, curling her body up and she let the tears finally flood down her face.

She hadn't realised how truly angry she was that she had been taken from her son, that she had abandoned him. She abruptly hated herself for rejoining the team; for putting herself in such a place where she would be parted from her son forever. She should have stayed in Atlantis. She was a terrible mother.

And now she was replacing him.

The tears were pooling between her cheek and the sleeping mat, saturating her skin and her hair, but she ignored the discomfort. Her whole body was tight, cold, weak and sick. Her chances of surviving this world were far too small anyway. It had been the luck of the Ancestors that she hadn't been killed before now. Their life here had been terrible; afraid of anything and everything. She had been forced to kill many times on this hellish world. She hated this planet.

She ran out of the energy to sob any further, instead she gasped long heavy breaths as the tears ran down her cheeks, until even they began to dry up. It all left her feeling exhausted and aware that she was knowingly uncaring that she was no longer on guard. The emotions began to fade though, as if she had sobbed them all out, leaving her finally empty and tired, but calmer. Her logical mind began to return. She had made her choices over the years from what she felt had been the right reasons. But, where had those choices led her?

Tired she relaxed her arms from around her knees and as she did one hand fell over her stomach. She paused. She was pregnant. The news finally settled into her consciousness. And she was further along with this pregnancy than she had been when she had first learnt she had been pregnant with Torren.

Everything else began to fade away; all her fears and insecurities and the strange hopelessness that had overwhelmed her. She was going to have another child and it wasn't replacing Torren, this was a whole new life that she and John had created together. She flattened her hand over her lower stomach and instantly she was determined she was not going to lose this pregnancy. She would do everything that she needed to make herself strong again and nothing was going to take this away from her. She would do anything it took to protect this new life.

Of course she had been aware that she could become pregnant with John, but in truth she had not thought of it. They had lived one day to the next and she had thought herself too undernourished, too stressed and thin to carry a pregnancy. She should have known better; life always found a way. And she was going to keep it alive.

She blinked away the last of her cold tears and once again reached for her knife. She could feel the weakness of her body as she struggled back up onto one elbow, but she would become strong again. She fixed her eyes on the entrance and returned her attention to listening to the camp around the tent and fortunately heard nothing.

As time passed the exhaustion she felt began to deepen and she worked to keep her heavy eyelids open. She wouldn't turn away from her guard duty again. Then with relief she heard John's boots across the ground outside and with a burst of relief she watched his familiar shape enter the tent.

"Just me." He announced, his breath winded, obviously having run most of the way.

With a heavy sigh she dropped her knife down and laid back down onto the mat. She closed her eyes and allowed the sleepiness to take hold as it wished. She surfaced again and listened to John moving around the tent; heard him lay a water skin down near her, and then move around some more before the mat shifted under her as he settled down beside her. She opened her eyes enough so she could drape some of the blanket over him, but he intercepted her hands, pushing the blanket gently away. She stopped trying and relaxed again, listening to his breathing beside her.

She realised she had no idea how he felt about the pregnancy. She rolled her head enough to see his profile and he turned his head sensing her attention. She didn't want to talk about this right now and if she knew John as well as she thought she did he wouldn't want to either. So she pulled on his closest arm as she rolled onto her side to face the entrance again. He followed her invitation and his warm body pressed against her back. She tried once again to lay some blanket over him, but he took it from her hands and arranged it over her. She was far too tired to protest and allowed him to tuck it all around her and then he slipped one of his arms under the blanket around her, his hand finding one of hers. She squeezed his fingers in response.

As she slid down into what promised to be a deep and nourishing night's sleep she felt him gently pull his hand from hers and settle his warm palm tenderly over her belly.

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TBC


	18. John 5

**Chapter:** 18 - John

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Her breathing deepened, her stomach rising and falling gently under his palm. His eyes strayed back to the tent entrance, but there was nothing to be heard but her gentle breathing and his own heart still hammering in his chest.

Then a slight rustling sound outside caught his attention. He pulled back from Teyla slightly, sitting up on his hip, his eyes focused on the front of the tent as he listened to the vague sounds. They grew louder and became distinctive as a couple talking in hushed annoyed voices. They appeared to be arguing over who should carry something, but John wasn't interested in the words, only in their intent. He calmed slightly as the couple passed by the tent, their voices still protesting each other and he gathered they were carrying a bucket of water between them.

As their voices disappeared back into the still quietness of the night John pulled back further from Teyla and sat up on the mat, his hand sliding gently from her belly to her uppermost hip. Everything was quiet. He settled himself more comfortably next to her, sitting so he was watching the entrance over her sleeping form, his hand still resting on her hip.

A baby. The words echoed in his head once again. Teyla was pregnant. He remembered vividly the last time he had received such news from her, but then it hadn't been his kid. His kid. A baby. He pressed his hand flatter against Teyla's body. After she had told him last time he had researched early pregnancy, hoping to use the knowledge as ammo against Dr Keller. He had been angry at the doctor for keeping Teyla's secret from him as it had endangered Teyla and the baby. So he knew that the first three months of pregnancy were the most tenuous. Miscarriages were common and Teyla had been out in the field through all of that with her last pregnancy! He hadn't shouted at Keller in the end, instead he had vented his annoyance and heartbreak in the only way he knew; to distance himself from Teyla. Or sulk, as his father had referred to it.

This time however the situation was different, but the danger was even greater. He looked down at his hand resting on her hip and took in the lines of her body through the thin blanket. He hadn't really noticed until yesterday how thin she was. He knew he was pretty skinny as well, but they were both really toned; both essentially just muscle and bone.

He had understood the implication of the nurse's subtle warning; Teyla might lose the baby. She was so thin; how could she carry a baby? Would it be too much for her? They were in such a vulnerable state on this world anyway; what kind of place was this to bring an innocent little kid into? What kind of life could it have?

His mind drifted to his own childhood; to the sulky years, the loss of his mother, the arguments and his final dismissal from his father. At least this kid wouldn't have to face anything like that. There was no way John would become anything like his father. John frowned; what did he have to offer a kid? He was a military man with barely anything to his name, and on this planet he had even less. John struggled each day to keep Teyla and himself alive, and though this camp offered more than its fair share of basic luxuries, how long would it last? John felt in his gut that the camp would be under serious threat again soon. What if he and Teyla were forced back out into the wilds again, but this time with a baby in tow?

A light sweat broke out over his skin at the thought; at all the circling thoughts. Teyla was sick now, what if the pregnancy made her more so? What if she lost the baby?

Well, he would have to make sure that that didn't happen. She had another month or so until the greatest risk to the pregnancy was over, so until then he would have to make sure she ate, rested and took care of herself. He would help her get well again.

His mission decided he returned his attention to the entrance again. The light level was already increasing outside, which meant that it would be another short night. Sure enough in no time at all sunlight began to glow through the fabric walls of the tent. John sighed; another night with no sleep, though he had gotten used to catching some short naps during the days. How were they supposed to track the pregnancy when each day varied?

Teyla kept sleeping through the growing light and didn't wake for many hours. When she did wake it was to be sick and John combed her hair back from her shoulders and offered her water and a rag of cloth. He left her briefly to walk the short distance to the closest fire over which he set some water to boil and he made her a tea to help with her nausea. She sipped it gratefully and fell back to sleep, and John sat by her on constant alert for anything. If she so much as sighed heavily in her sleep he was leaning over her and checking she was okay.

The following days passed in much the same way; John watching over her as if she were about to break at any moment. He left her only to fetch food and water, or when she went into the washroom alone. After two days had passed, through which he had slept very little, he carried her back to the infirmary for her second shot. The nurse tested her blood again and they were told the pregnancy was still holding. But, that only presented a minute moment of relief for John; there was still another month to go and Teyla was still far from her best.

So as the days passed he worked to build up her strength. He offered her pieces of food all day long, encouraging her to eat small pieces if nothing else and had found the best way to get her to eat was to annoy her so much that she ate just to make him stop. He also found the 'it's for the baby' line also worked well. They didn't really talk about the pregnancy and in a way he was glad. He didn't feel that he could accept it until the three months were up. She was so thin and weak and his focus was to get her well and to put on some weight. So he spent his days behaving like a cross between her own personal servant and a prison warden. But, though he was aware that he was probably really annoying her, she never lost her temper with him. Instead by being inside the tent most of the time they spent more time cuddled up together. Though they didn't discuss the baby other than as a reason why she should get well, he couldn't seem to resist touching her stomach, especially at night.

It was a strange bizarre thing to know intellectually that there was a new life inside her, but it was deep within her, kept safe. Hopefully. As time passed he began to realise that perhaps he was more invested in the baby than he had admitted to himself. He didn't just want her to be well, but the baby to be okay as well. He tried not to, because it might not hold and…

After a load of days that John had stopped trying to count, Teyla began to look better, though she was still physically sick at least once a day. She began to take interest in the food he offered her and now rather liked the taste of the vegetable pieces. When he collected their food from the ship he always took her new double potions, and kept most of what she didn't eat in a zip lock bag that had been in a pocket of his vest. That way he always had food available for her.

They visited the infirmary regularly for her to have blood tests and fortunately she hadn't needed any more nutrient shots, though John had tried to persuade the nurse to give her one anyway, citing how thin she was. The nurse had looked amused more than anything, which was odd.

He didn't get much sleep through the following month, as he spent most nights watching over her or worrying about what could happen. He tried to ignore his growing sense of worry over the baby, but more so he tried not to feel too much, because of the disappointment he began to suspect he might feel if it didn't hold.

But then eventually one day the nurse pronounced that Teyla was at least three months along and it was with a heavy soul deep sigh of relief that John sat beside Teyla in the infirmary, watching the nurse pull two devices out of a case and place one, which was flat, over Teyla's bare stomach. John looked down suspiciously at it lying over Teyla's still entirely too skinny belly. Several lights flickered up on the device and the nurse held up the other device and a blurry picture appeared on it. He stared at the small screen realising abruptly what it was and that they were about to see.

John frowned at the confusing image as the nurse moved the flat device over Teyla until finally she pointed to one part of the screen. Squinting and tilting his head John studied it. Abruptly the image went out of focus and then returned with sharper lines and suddenly there was a shape that looked vaguely familiar. Teyla laughed lightly at it, but John still wasn't convinced until it moved and he watched as an arm and leg shape appeared.

The nurse moved the device and the baby shifted again and its face came into view; the outlines of its eyes, nose and cheekbones clear as day. John watched it in fascination picking out the spine and a pulsing area which had to be its heart. It had a heart and it was beating; it was a real live baby and it was his.

Teyla's hand touched against his and he realised he had been gaping at the screen. He shut his mouth and looked down at her and saw the tears in her eyes. He smiled at her, but turned back to the screen to stop the emotion that threatened his composure. There was no way he was getting all soppy in front of the entire infirmary. He turned to the nurse who appeared to be taking measurements of the baby from the screen.

"Is it okay?" He asked.

She looked up and nodded. "It appears very well, if a little small, but that is often the case living here."

"But, its okay?" John asked again.

"It appears healthy and developing well."

"And Teyla's okay?"

The nurse gave him one of those amused tolerant smiles that were really starting to annoy John. "Yes, they are both fine. Though, obviously Teyla you need to try to eat more." John looked down at Teyla and gave her a pointed look at which she rolled her eyes, but the smile was clear on her lips and she squeezed his hand.

"I am going to record these results and then we should weight you and I'll give you some more tea leaves if you still need some." The nurse asked as she made her last notes on her electronic pad.

"Please." Teyla replied and John almost asked for some for himself; he was feeling a little weird having seen the baby. He sat down properly beside Teyla as the nurse went off to do whatever, unfortunately having taken the devices with her.

Teyla's hand tightened around his and he looked down at her. She smiled back, the first real large smile he had seen in a long time. "You look shocked still." She said.

John quickly pulled a casual 'whatever' expression. "Me? Just you know… interesting technology."

She smiled again, one of those wide happy smiles of hers. "Okay." She said.

She looked away from him following the nurse and the others around the infirmary carefully. They only came to the infirmary as the light was just rising, that way there were few other people in there. That way they felt more comfortable there and there were fewer people to keep a watch on. John watched her instead. She looked better, her eyes were brighter and her complexion was almost back to normal. The baby was safe for now and John tightened his hand around her smaller one. They really were going to have a baby.

"It'll be tough, you know." He said finally.

Teyla turned to meet his eyes again and she nodded softly at him. Her eyes held the knowledge that she understood as he did; life here was uncertain. Their child might not make it to its birth, let alone survive beyond that. It was a weight that sat far too heavily in John's heart and stomach, and he had to look away from her. It was painful to think about it, let alone see that knowledge in her eyes. He wanted nothing more than to be able to promise her a safe life for her and their child, but he couldn't. He couldn't even promise that basic right.

Her fingers slid over his hand, soft, comforting and confident all in one. "We will have to do the best we can."

He cleared his throat and looked up from her golden hand to her face. He took a breath. "Well, we've done alright so far." He joked.

She smiled with him, both of them aware of the thin chances. He stared into her dark eyes and resisted the urge to cry. He wanted her to live in a safe, beautiful place where their kid could run through a bright sunny garden with their half brother. John would have given anything if it meant that dream could come true.

But, he couldn't, so he held her hand tightly in his and promised himself that he would do anything that he could to keep her safe and to keep their child alive.

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TBC


	19. Walker

**Chapter:** 19 - Walker

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Lt. Colonel Mat Walker wandered down the high vaulted corridor. He had been in Atlantis for almost six months, but he still couldn't help the wave of wonder at seeing the city around him. Ancients had walked through these very corridors. The city was a living breathing archaeological site, but unlike the usual series of small broken walls found at the bottom of a ditch, this city was as pristine as when the Ancients had left. Walker felt privileged to be allowed to walk here and to be able to work to preserve this beautiful city.

Not that he had arrived in the city under the best of circumstances. He had been stationed in the SGC for the past eight years, having worked under Generals Hammond, O'Neill and Landry. He had fought against System Lords, Replicators and the Ori. He had somehow survived all that and had finally been promoted to Lt. Colonel. But, a couple of years back he had been in the base when those from Atlantis had been temporary been assigned back to Earth. He had sat in the Mess and talked with them, heard the stories of the ancient city, the monstrous vampiric Wraith, the abundance of Ancient tech including the Jumpers. Once they had returned back to Atlantis Walker had immediately requested reassignment to the city. In fact once his promotion had come through his first words to Colonel Mitchell had been to inquire if he could be reassigned right away, but the Colonel had laughed and said they still needed him there.

Then the news had arrived that Colonel Sheppard had been lost and suddenly Walker was on his way through the Gate to stand in Sheppard's place. He had been shocked, saddened and honestly very surprised. Surely there were others more highly qualified who were more in line for the position? Then he had learnt the truth; that Colonel Caldwell was pushing for the position, but he was currently out on a secret assignment with the Daedalus. An assignment that had lasted six months so far. General Landry hadn't tried to hide the truth from Walker when he had asked; he was to keep Atlantis in order until Caldwell returned and they had the utmost trust in his ability to do so. Walker had felt odd at that; not because he was a temp, but because it felt so sneaky. Like Colonel Caldwell had been sniffing around for ages and had staked his claim without even being around. But, what was Walker to do, but do his job?

He had worried when he had arrived here how he would be greeted by those in the city, but they accepted him without any problem. Some of that might have been due to the grief they clearly all still felt, or perhaps as they had suffered many loses over the years and were used to changing leadership.

Walker had liked Colonel Sheppard and regretted hearing that his eventual move to Atlantis should follow such a loss. When the Colonel had been assigned to the SGC they had interacted quite a bit, even though the Colonel tended to keep to himself. Once stationed in Atlantis he had had to read all of the past reports and had particularly enjoyed the Colonel's reports; the man's personality had come through the shape of his sentences and phrases. But, the Colonel was gone and he had been brought in to fill the Colonel's boots and it had felt weird.

That was until the news arrived that the Colonel might not be dead and for some reason Walker had felt it was his job to hold the commander position away from Caldwell until they could attempt their rescue attempt. He had worked hard with Mr Woolsey to defend the project to find the Colonel and the woman lost with him; Teyla Emmagan. He had steadfastly ignored the fact that people worked all hours of the night against orders, and if he had had to visit the labs late during his rounds he made sure to be loud and cough a lot, giving them plenty of time to scurry away or hide anything they needed to. He was pretty sure they were all clued into the fact that he was on their side, but they all had to keep up the pretences.

Though now those pretences were gone; the rescue attempt was at the fore front of everything and no one tried to hide it anymore. As Walker made his way quickly down the corridor into the Gate room he noticed the Gate was active, but no one was walking through; probably a radio message. He hurried up the main staircase to find Mr Woolsey and Major Lorne standing by the dialling console talking over the radio with someone. As he entered they signed off and the Gate shut down.

"What's up?" He asked, enjoying the more casual approach to everything in the city.

Mr Woolsey turned to him. "Doctor McKay says the probes were unsuccessful."

Walker sighed heavily; damn it. "All five of them?"

"He said the last one showed some promise, but there are too many variables for only four tries following the first probe."

"He did mention that in the IOA presentation." Walker replied.

"Indeed. Well, let's see if they remember that." Woolsey replied as he turned to Chuck and asked for Earth to be dialled.

"You think they will authorise more probes?" Walker asked as he stood beside the city's leader. The light around the inner ring of the Gate began to spin.

"We'll see." Was all Woolsey said in response and Walker suspected the man was already preparing his speech to the IOA representative in the SGC. He stepped back slightly to stand beside Lorne.

"How's McKay taking it?" He asked his friend quietly.

Lorne sighed and shrugged one shoulder. "He was too busy blaming various energy currents or whatever to really tell. Which actually is a good sign with him; that he was complaining."

"What happens if they don't allow us to make more probes?" Walker asked, though he already suspected there was little that would hold back these people.

"We'll find a way." Woolsey replied having overheard him.

Walker nodded, even though the man's back was to him now, as he watched the gate activated in the room below. Walker looked round at Lorne and saw the determined expression he saw so often with these people; no they would find a way. He was proud that he could be here to help them find their lost people. That was if they got the chance and if they were still alive.

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TBC


	20. Teyla 6

**Chapter:** 20 - Teyla

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Teyla stooped over the folded thick fabric and reached to pull it open, to study its strength and softness. The woman's eyes followed her with no threat, but there was caution there. Teyla looked up and briefly smiled at the older woman before she returned her attention to the fabric. The woman's gaze was watchful, as with everyone here, but there was also the grief plain to see. She has lost her partner of many years not too long ago and now she was clearing out their things. Teyla had heard from Violet Eyes that the woman was moving into a room in the large ship where she was going to develop her skills as a nurse and help out in the infirmary. So, now she was putting much of what she and her partner had owned out for trade. There was more than Teyla had anticipated and she was sure she could make some good trades this evening.

There had only been two other people who had looked through the items for trade. People were overly cautious when it came to trading with those who had lost someone. Everyone believed this woman's partner had been killed from the virus and so they didn't want to come near her or touch her partner's things yet. Most would wait a few days to look out for signs of the virus and then there would be a rush to trade. However, Teyla and John knew that the woman's partner had not been killed by the virus, as they had been in the infirmary when he had been brought in before he died. He had been severely injured during a hunting session, an insect had bitten him and the wound had been deep and grew infected. He had been an older man and his system had been unable to defeat the infection, and of course malnutrition was always a causative factor in the camp. He had died in the infirmary that afternoon and Teyla had witnessed the woman crying silently over her lost love's body.

The image had lingered with Teyla, as had the woman's expression as she finally turned her back to the body. Teyla had met her eyes and they had shared a look that Teyla had been unable to describe, but it had moved her. The woman appeared to have remembered as well as she had allowed Teyla into her tent to look at the items for trade even though the sun's light was almost gone.

Teyla folded the fabric back up and laid three of the best batches to one side, nice and clearly for the woman to see and know that Teyla did not intend to run away with them. Teyla moved onto the next items.

John shifted slightly behind her, changing his weight as he stood guard at the entrance to the tent. Though they both had believed the nurses and doctors that the virus was not transferred through touch and that it could not survive on fabrics or surfaces cooler than the human body, John had still been cautious about the trade. He had a bottle of antiseptic that a nurse had given him from the ship and anything that they acquired was thoroughly disinfected before it even entered the their tent.

She had thought he had been protective and cautious before, but since they had learnt of her pregnancy he had become even more so. In fact it had led to a major disagreement between them. He had been constantly by her, constantly looking over her shoulder, always in the way and she had been unable to breathe a heavy breath without him staring at her worriedly. She had begun to feel like she was being kept like a prisoner, constantly monitored by a warden. Her strength had fully returned and she was eating regularly and she saw no reason for his over protectiveness to continue. He hadn't wanted her to do anything, or talk to anyone without him being right beside her. Though she rarely left his side anyway, she had begun to resent his overbearing presence. It had led to an argument which had begun after she had spent a longer time than usual in the Ladies washroom and he had grown so worried that he had almost gone in to get her. She had heard arguing outside and had found him arguing with some burly women who had taken offense to his hanging around the entrance to the Ladies. Teyla had dragged John back to the tent and they had argued fiercely. It had been the first time they had shared angry words since they had arrived on this planet and it was the first time they had disagreed with each other since they had become lovers.

She had told him plainly that she did not appreciate his being so overbearing and that she felt like a prisoner. She was perfectly capable of protecting herself and him as they had always done. She was only just showing her pregnancy and she had as much energy as before. She reminded him that throughout the galaxies, and across the species, that the most dangerous of creatures was a mother protecting her young. She did not doubt her skills to defend herself and she was perfectly capable of watching out for herself and him as normal. Since her strength had returned she had felt a powerful sense of determination to protect this baby and to stay alive. And with that she had become calmer somehow, less anxious and more dangerous in a way. John had as well she had noticed. No one had bothered them for a long time, as if they were both projecting more clearly that they were not to be messed with for any reason. Teyla knew that they were both more lethal now than ever before. She did not doubt her skill, but it had appeared John had.

He had argued back that it was his job to protect her and the baby and that he was worried about them. He was nervous and anxious and had only wanted to make sure everything was safe for her. She acknowledged that he had a right to feel as he did and he had promised to ease off on the prison warden thing. But, he had also told her something else; that he had been especially overprotective because he really had no real idea how she was feeling. She tended to keep things to herself. She hadn't told him how sick she had been feeling at times as she had not wanted to worry him. She had blatantly told him she felt fine, when what he had seen was a very pale woman looking like she might collapse at any moment. He told her that he needed her to be more truthful with him; that he needed to know how she felt because otherwise he just had to assume that anything could happen.

It had been an interesting and insightful wake up call for Teyla. She was used to keeping her fears to herself and she hadn't ever wanted to bother anyone else with the little complaints of life. But, John was saying, demanding, that she share them with him. It had almost been amusing that it had been John who was as powerfully private as she was who was asking for that. And he had been right.

She hadn't been able to stop herself from comparing John with Kanaan then. The two men were so very different and Kanaan had never demanded anything from her, had never even raised his voice near her ever. But, John had and she respected him even more for arguing with her and that he had been so honest with her. So she had done as he had asked; she had told him exactly what was going on, how she felt, how she worried and even about the odd twinge in her lower back from when she had carried Torren that oddly had returned now so early in this pregnancy. And John in return had calmed down, given her more space and had massaged her lower back when she told him it ached. It had been a good deal in her opinion.

She looked over her shoulder at him standing partly inside the tent's entrance; there was no way anyone was getting past him even if the tent's owner wanted them to. A large fabric bag rested by his leg which held all the items they had decided they could trade. Most were duplicate items from the vests and even one of the vests itself, with its pockets empty of course. They needed fabric for clothes, blankets and Teyla planned to make a sling to carry the baby. Teyla wanted to start preparing these things now, whilst there was time to do so. She had heard this woman was selling off a lot of things and so here she was to gather what they needed for their future child when it joined them. Teyla gently touched one hand against her stomach feeling the slight growing roundness to her lower belly that John found so fascinating. Their child and she would keep it alive.

She selected some more thick cloth that had hung as a screen in the woman's tent; she could probably use that for a sling and line it with something softer. She glanced down at the items again and her eyes were drawn to a bronze coloured handle peering out from behind some other objects. She moved around the items and fabrics slowly so as not to worry the woman and she heard John shift again in the doorway so he could see her still.

The handle turned out to be the upper part of a long curved knife set in a solid scabbard. A strange sense of fascination and appeal went through Teyla as she reached for it. The handle was long and plainly decorated; its lines strong and functional. She indicated the scabbard to the woman, silently requesting permission to unsheathe the blade. The woman nodded and Teyla pulled the knife from the scabbard. It slid free easily and with a wonderful rush of noise that told Teyla that the metal was soundly made. The blade was gently curved, sharp and as long as her arm, almost the size of one of her bantos rods. She swung the blade around, feeling the perfectly worked weight and she sighed in delight. It was beautiful. It was a perfect weapon for her and as it had a nice long handle it would make handling it easier as she grew with her pregnancy. The scabbard could be worn so it curved backwards and she could draw the weapon up and over her belly even once it grew larger; she had to have it.

She sheathed the knife and placed it on top of the fabric she had already selected and looked up to see the woman smile slightly at her.

"His mother gave him that weapon, said it had a soul of its own and that it should be used with that knowledge." She smiled with what Teyla suspected to be sorrow mixed with pleasure. "It suits you well, warrior."

Teyla smiled in return as she nodded to the woman before she turned towards John reaching for the bag of their trading items, only to find that he was looking down at the knife. She paused wondering if he was going to regress to his former worry over her, but he looked up at her and smiled as he held out the bag to her. It appeared he approved of her new weapon as well. A weapon to defend their child.

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TBC


	21. John 6

**Chapter:** 21 - John

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John didn't like it. Well, in truth he currently had a very long list of things he didn't like but this one was climbing the list. He edged further forward, the rocky ground under him warm with the long day's sunlight. Through two gaps across the landscape he could just about see the shapes of the enemy moving. Their clothes were dirtied, the their bodies thin yet toned and they held themselves in such a way to make it clear they were ready to fight anyone at anytime; which was pretty much how everyone looked on this planet. That fact was also on John's list. But, this new movement of the enemy group was the most suspicious item on that list.

He shuffled forwards again, using his elbows and his hips to crawl into a better position. Even at this far distance they had to be very careful, the enemy group had sharp eyed scouts and a strong willingness to take offense to anyone seen even watching them.

Violet Eyes arrived beside John, his body also flattened against the ground. "What do you think?" He whispered quietly.

John glanced round at him briefly before he turned his attention back to the group in the distance. "I see why you were worried." John replied. Violet Eyes had asked John to join the scouting party as he was aware of John's long experience in the military and he often asked for John's opinion. John had agreed reluctantly as what threatened the camp threatened Teyla and her pregnancy. Not that she saw it that simply; she had wanted to join them on the scouting mission, but John had already been preparing little speeches on such subjects and had had a calm logical argument ready to make her stay. He had been surprised that it had worked so well. Of course he knew what she would be doing back in the camp; probably training in the tent. She would have pushed everything to the sides as she so often did to work through her routines to keep up her strength and skills. And of course she was always working with her new weapon of choice; a strong sharp blade that looked like it could separate a Wraith's head from its body if necessary. John approved of the weapon, but its sharpness also worried him when she flashed it around so close to her body. His worrying was worrying him; he was always worrying about something, especially when he was away from Teyla. Which reminded him he needed to focus on this scouting mission and then he could get back to her as quickly as possible.

So he watched the enemy as carefully as possible. What was strange was that they were heading away from the camp and their own camp. John pulled his binoculars out of his pocket again and squinted through them at the enemy. He recognised the expressions on their faces and their attitude; he had seen it far too many times in the past.

"They're moving troops." John said quietly. "I recognise that bored wandering look. They're in no hurry to get anywhere and they don't look like they're preparing for a fight." He lowered the binoculars and passed them to Violet Eyes.

"Maybe they are simply moving their camp?" Violet Eyes asked as he looked through the dusty binoculars.

John frowned. "Maybe. I thought you said they had a sweet place near a spring or something?"

Violet Eyes lowered the binoculars. "Yes. Their camp is quite large, maybe they require further resources? Or perhaps a smaller group have split away?"

"How many of these groups have been seen recently?" John asked. He estimated there were only about fifty people in the group up ahead.

"Three groups that we've seen and their numbers were similar to these."

John sighed, his breath causing a tiny cloud out of the light rocky dust in front of his face. "Have they been seen around the other sides of the camp?"

"No. I was concerned at that as well; that they may be working to surround us."

John pulled his eyes away from the last members of the enemy group as they headed off into the distance. "I thought you said their numbers were too small for such an attack?"

"That we know, yes." Violet Eyes dropped his head down behind the slight ridge he hid behind and he turned his strange eyes to John. "I fear this is part of the new strategy we suspect they may be employing."

John conceded the point with a half shrug and looked back at the last of the enemy he could see. "They're on edge, but they seem more bored and annoyed than anything else." John considered out loud. "Like they don't like where they're going."

Violet Eyes laughed quietly. "You can tell all of that from this distance?"

John smiled in return. "I recognise the signs from experience; believe me I've been in that situation plenty of times. You should have seen my assignment before Atlantis."

Antarctica couldn't have been further removed from John's current situation; there he had been always cold, vaguely lonely and happy to brood silently. Here it was always warm, sunny, the camp was jam-packed with people and he spent his nights tucked up with Teyla. Out of the two John realised he would choose this scenario. Though; Antarctica with a nicely heated house and Teyla would be even better. He found his mind wandering into a little fantasy of a beautiful house with a large cosy bed for him to keep Teyla warm in.

Reality snapped back and he felt abruptly depressed. He would never see Earth again. So he focused back on the here and now. "I agree with you; they're up to something, but without scouting out further we can't know what that is." John told Violet Eyes.

The man sighed. "Scouts that head out any further are always seen and never return, at least not in any survivable state. So, we will have to wait and see what they do."

John hated it as much as Violet Eyes, but there wasn't really anything else they could do. Just wait and keep watch. They turned and carefully and slowly made their way back towards the camp. As they entered the camp the light was still bright; another weirdly long day with no hint as to when night would fall. Violet Eyes headed back towards his ship and John made his way along the tent lined streets, his hand tight around the handle of his knife. Now that Teyla was showing her pregnancy enough to be seen through clothing they had been given more space by the others around them, and John had felt slightly more comfortably leaving Teyla for short spells whilst he collected water, made tea or helped out Violet Eyes on a scouting mission occasionally like today. But, John never let down his guard. Only yesterday two people had been killed on the other side of the camp during a massive fight that had wrecked many tents and had left bystanders injured. This place was a powder keg, eagerly waiting for fuses to be lit.

Finally he turned the last corner towards their tent and he quickened his steps to the entrance. He exchanged polite tense nods with a few neighbours, before he leant down and entered the tent. "It's me." He announced as he parted the fabric and entered their home.

Teyla was sitting on the sleeping mat, her knife in her hand ready, but she relaxed when she saw him. She smiled up at him and slid the knife back into its scabbard.

"I thought you'd be training or something." John said feeling a little disappointed; he loved watching her train.

She gave him a knowing look as he leant down and kissed her smiling lips.

"I did, but you have been gone longer than usual." She replied once he pulled his mouth from hers.

John moved over to the water skins and took a long drink before he pulled off his vest and boots. "We had to go out further. Looks like the bad guys are moving troops away from their old camp."

Teyla settled backwards to recline against her newly made cushions. She frowned. "Why would they leave their camp? I thought Violet Eyes said it was a good location with excellent resources."

"He did." John replied as he pulled off his dusty shirt and trousers and pulled on the cleaner set. He bent down over the water bucket and washed out his hair quickly and washed his hands, using a small dish of the washroom soap he and Teyla had acquired. When he sat up rubbing the piece of fabric he used for a towel over his hair he saw Teyla was frowning deeply, her attention focused inwards. "What?"

"I wonder if they are setting up more than one camp. Or maybe there have been divisions in their camp?" She considered.

"We don't know." John replied as he combed his fingers through his hair, trying to gain some control over how it would dry. He had allowed Teyla to cut it several times with a knife, but it was still longer at the back than he usually liked it. It seemed to grow quicker here, as did his beard, but he kept his stubble under good control, not liking the red rash it gave Teyla's skin.

"They may be planning to surround this camp." She said sounding lost in her thoughts. She stretched her back as she did, her hand floating to that point of her lower back that bothered her.

"They don't have the numbers for such an attack, but who knows." John said. He crawled forward to the sleeping mat and settled down beside her, reaching for her back. She rolled slightly onto her side so he could reach her lower back and she sighed as he slid the heel of his palm right into the aching area.

"If they are making such large changes it may be a very bad sign." She said, but her voice was softer now as she enjoyed his gentle massage.

John rubbed circles into her lower back, working gradually deeper as her muscles relaxed. "Or it could mean we have longer. Those I saw today didn't look like they were revving up for some big battle. They looked bored and slightly grumpy." He didn't want her to dwell on this new development, mostly because he was far more interested in something else right now.

He pressed his body up against her back as he began to massage round her hip. She murmured out a long pleasured sound as he slid his hand under her trouser's waist band and caressed down between her legs. One thing he liked about these long days when they came around was the chance to make love when there was enough light to see Teyla properly. He eased her trousers from her waist and hips, pushing them down and away so he could touch her properly. As he did she stripped off her shirt, leaving herself completely naked.

John peered up towards the entrance to the tent slightly nervously. Though making love in the daylight was enjoyable it did mean that there were more people around outside and that made him nervous. But, he turned his attention back to Teyla and slid his lower arm under her neck so he could wrap his arms around her completely. She caught his hand in hers as he did and she turned her head towards him and he met her mouth eagerly.

Since they had leant of her pregnancy, and once he had felt comfortable that he wasn't going to hurt her or the baby, their love making had changed. Before they had slept together quickly, rather anxiously and with an intensity of speed and depth that had been enjoyable and at times had edged on the rough side. Now, it was slower and they spent more time with the build up, enjoying holding, touching and lingering. He knew that were they alone in a room in Atlantis, or anywhere else, that things could be even slower and louder, but compared to before the pregnancy things were more relaxed. During these sessions John allowed himself to lose himself in her completely, pouring out his desire and love for her in the only way he knew other than to worry about her. He loved the way she responded to him; almost instantly like she was constantly aroused by him and that his touch was all she needed.

Like now she licked into his mouth as he slid his fingers into her. She moaned quietly, using his mouth to muffle the sound. He penetrated her deeper drawing out a deeper moan from her that she barely contained. He wished yet again for that quiet empty room in Atlantis where they would be free to linger longer, shout moan and groan as loud as they wanted, but for now he enjoyed her response that was so close to losing it, it made him feel powerful and loved.

He drew his touch out of her and at her little sound of complaint he kissed her throat, smiling against her soft skin. He pulled off his shirt and trousers freeing his own complaining body and pressed his front up against her back even tighter. She made a contained little growling sound as she lifted her upper leg up for him, angled her pelvis backwards slightly and he reached between her legs again, parted her folds and eased himself into her. They shuffled around slightly, discarding several cushions from under them until he slid into her completely, her backside tucked up right into his groin and he paused to bite her shoulder gently to muffle his own groan.

Her hand caressed over his hip, the edges of her nails occasionally grazing his skin. He kissed her neck, licking and sucking her skin in return, marking her gently as he so often did in bed. He had never felt the need to mark a woman before, not since he had been a hormonally charged teenager, but with her he liked the little shadows of love bites on her skin and she didn't seem to mind. In fact she arched her back in response, moving herself over him and he groaned as he lifted his mouth from her skin and began to thrust slowly into her. Her nails bit into his hip. He didn't like to lay directly over her anymore, worried about crushing the baby, so he didn't sport her claw marks on his back and shoulders anymore. Her new target areas were his hips, sides and arms and he liked the little marks that told him how much he had pleased her; little reminders of her orgasms.

She groaned again slightly louder than normal and she pulled his other hand to her mouth and tested her teeth against his thumb to quieten another moan. The flat edges of her teeth slid over the back of his hand, her fingers tightly holding him in place and he drove into her deeper and faster, pulled in by the growing tightness of her body. She arched her back again and she released her hold on his hip, reaching back and she caught hold of the back of his neck. He buried his nose and mouth into the side of her neck again, seeking out a sweet spot. He reached down and pulled up her upper leg, opening her further and he felt his own release building as a deep growing pressure in his lower back.

He ran his lips up her throat to her ear, breathed across her skin and bit her ear lobe gently. She wrapped her mouth around his thumb again as her release finally hit. Her body undulated against him, pushing back against his invasion, pulling and holding him deeply and he surrendered to it allowing his orgasm. He set his mouth against the side of her neck again, sucking onto her skin almost biting her to hide his own groaning shout. He bucked against her and her hand fell to his hip again as her body squeezed his one last time and with a heavy sigh she relaxed and pulled her mouth from his hand. He rested his lower arm against the mat supporting her head as she relaxed down and he lowered her upper leg which had been around his other arm as his own body began to sink into that glorious deep warm relaxation following sex.

They lay panting together, both still facing the entrance to the tent, both resisting the temptation to sleep whilst it was still daylight and there were so many people outside. John worked to keep his eyes open, so kept his gaze back on the entrance, watching the passing silhouettes across the front of the tent of people passing outside. The light was sinking he realised; it would be night very soon. So, he settled his nose against Teyla's neck, and allowed himself to relax a little more than normal.

She lay calmly in his arms, her breathing slowing and deepening. He stroked his free hand around her again, running lightly over her breasts before sinking down to rest over her belly, over their growing child. She laid her arm over his, her fingers running over the back of his hand gently. He drew in her smell, the feel of her warm skin against his front, around his leg that lay between hers, and under his hand.

The baby moved slightly under his palm and he smiled. Teyla laughed lightly. The light flutters could be felt occasionally and had only just started a few days ago. John loved to feel them; such a clear sign that his child was alive and growing. He stroked a circle around her belly.

"You know I love you, don't you?" He asked her quietly.

Her hand tightened over his and she took a slightly shaky breath he thought.

"I know." She replied before she shifted her shoulders round so she could look back at him. He kept his place, letting her shoulder slide down his chest as she turned her upper body. They kept their linked hands over her belly. She looked up at him with soft almost wet eyes. He had never told her so directly before, instead believing she would understand without him needing to say the words. He had feared saying them like to say them would bring an end to something, but as he lay with her, their child moving inside her he realised he was just scared. He was scared he would lose her, lose their baby or that something might happen to him and he wouldn't get to see his child grow up. He understood now a little of how Teyla felt about losing Torren; he knew she still cried occasionally for him. Loving Teyla and their baby was both wonderful and deeply painful; for now he really had something to lose.

She smiled up at him, reaching up to run her hand through his hair. "I love you too." She said equally as softly.

He hadn't been waiting to hear the words, so lost in his own self realisations, but hearing them was deeply satisfying and moving. They were both in the same boat, both of them had a lot to lose, but they had each other. He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her gently, but thoroughly.

They parted lips and she turned back into her previous position, settled into his arms again, but she kept her head turned towards him and they laid with their cheeks touching. The sunlight was dying outside, the sounds of people lowering and John began to stroke circles over her belly again.

"What would you like to call the baby?" Teyla asked eventually.

John paused in his circling. "I hadn't really thought about it. We don't know if it's going to be a girl or a boy." He hadn't wanted to think about it, because what if it didn't survive?

"We can plan for either. Are there any names you would like to use?" She asked. Her fingers were still gently caressing his arm as he began to circle her stomach again.

"No, not really. You choose it." John replied.

"Are there any family traditions, or names from your family you wish to use?" Teyla pressed.

"No, no traditions. You choose." He repeated. He was quite happy for Teyla to make that choice; she would make the better decision anyway.

She smiled against his cheek. "How about you choose its second name?"

John paused in his circling again. "Okay." That didn't feel like too much to decide. It would be known by its first name anyway.

"I will start thinking of some names and you can tell me ones you do not like." She added. Now it was his turn to smile at her clear attempt to involve him.

"Okay. But, I can tell you right now we're not calling it Meredith."

She laughed, her body moving interestingly against his as she did. The baby shifted under John's hand again. "It seems to like the name." She teased as the baby moved again.

John slid his hand over her belly tracing the movements. "No, it was agreeing with me. We're not calling it Meredith."

She laughed again. "Alright." She replied but she shivered slightly, so John reached down the mat for the blankets and pulled them up over them, making sure to cover all of her. He settled back against her properly, wrapping his arms around her again and resettled his hand over their child.

The light was almost gone and Teyla was clearly falling asleep, but John remained awake, listening to the dying sounds of the camp. His mind drifted back to the enemy camp and he had to wonder what they were up to. He wondered if they were out there now in the dark plotting their attack, closing in on the camp. He tightened his hold around Teyla and over his child and kept listening intently as the light finally disappeared leaving a thick impenetrable darkness behind.

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TBC


	22. Halling

**Chapter:** 22 - Halling

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The season was slowly changing; the colder nights were growing fewer and light rains had begun to arrive in the early mornings. This morning the sunlight was bright, but still lacked the true heat of the far off summer months. Halling wandered among the tents, idly enjoying the gentle activity of the camp this morning. The ground was damp, but not overly so, and the air was fresh. There was much still to be done in the camp, but there was plenty of time.

He turned the last corner around the Sitter's tent and was greeted by the sound of children playing. The tent was open and the large flat rugs were laid out across the ground for the youngest children to sit and crawl around. Beyond them sitting in the sunshine the older children sat around a teacher, listening intently to the story she told.

Halling nodded in greeting to the teacher, but his attention was focused on the younger children, namely Torren. A Sitter, Kerra, sat by the tent entrance overseeing the youngest children and Torren was sat up near her idly playing with some wooden blocks.

"Good morning Halling." Kerra greeted him as he knelt down on the other side of Torren. Kerra was a member of the next village over on this new world which the Athosians now called home. This world was a patchwork of different camps, all refugees from Wraith culled worlds, all of which had found their way here through word of mouth, or via those of Atlantis. The Gate on this world had been placed here by those from Atlantis, a remnant Gate from their dismantled Galactic Gateway back to their home planet. It was hoped that the Wraith would not find this world as the original Gate had been situated in orbit of a neighbouring empty planet. Halling only prayed to the Ancestors that this planet would turn out to be a stable home for his people.

Halling greeted Kerra as he settled down on the rug. The woman spent much of her time in the Athosian camp having made several good friends here, but in Halling's opinion her attention was focused more towards Kanaan. As far as Halling was aware Kanaan had not returned her attentions, or perhaps was unaware. But, that was not Halling's place to ask or involve himself. However, Kanaan and Teyla's child was a concern of his.

Torren looked up at Halling with a light smile of recognition before he turned his attention back to his blocks.

"How is he?" Halling asked Kerra.

"He is very well. He was playing happily earlier when we all went to the riverside." Kerra spoke with the upbeat, positive speech of one well suited to caring for children.

"Good." Halling replied as he reached out and presented another toy to Torren. Torren looked at it and then back to his blocks taking his time to decide if he wanted to play with the new toy. Torren worried Halling. He was completely healthy according to the Atlantis doctors, but it was clear that he was not as a child of his age should be. He was very quiet, reluctant to be involved in anything new or exciting. He showed very little interest in learning to talk, though if prompted to he would copy sounds of others. But, most of the time he would sit or lie quietly, focused solely on one thing, engrossed, but always appeared sad. He preferred to be held, and would sit quietly in someone's arms just looking at the buttons on their coat, their jewellery, their faces or just watching the world, with no apparent interest in getting involved in what he saw around him.

In almost everyone's opinion Torren was still grieving for his mother. Halling agreed, but it had been many months and though it was natural for a child to grieve, normally a child would move on faster than this. It was almost as if Torren were quietly and constantly waiting for his mother to return. It was an unfortunate fact that the Athosians were quite experienced in helping children who had lost a parent, but Torren appeared more deeply affected than any other child Halling had seen. It pained Halling to see Teyla's child so saddened still and he was worried that the boy would slow even further in his development.

Halling's worry extended further than Torren though; he was concerned about Kanaan. As now Halling knew Kanaan was in the camp as he had seen him earlier, but Torren was here with the Sitters. Halling had noticed that the sadness of Torren was weighting very heavily on Kanaan. It was difficult being a sole parent of a child, as Halling knew well, but it appeared that Kanaan was feeling the burden of that difficulty as time passed. Torren was with the Sitters more frequently lately and though Kanaan was working hard with the irrigation systems, Halling had the feeling Kanaan was needing time away from his son. Ronon visited almost every week to see Torren and would often take him back to Atlantis for a day or so and Torren seemed to enjoy those visits, though it was still rather hard to tell with him. Ronon reported that Torren always appeared interested in the city of the Ancestors and everyone there worked to entertain the child, sometimes just working to see one smile from the boy. Those small breaks helped Kanaan Halling felt, for he would often work all day on the irrigation streams, pouring his energy into physical work. He was always happy to see Torren return and clearly loved his son, but Torren's sadness seemed to be unending and it must be paining Kanaan even more than it was Halling. Halling smiled at Kerra and wondered if Kanaan was aware of the support and feeling this kind woman was ready to offer him. Perhaps, like his son, Kanaan was stuck in a state of limbo, caught between what was lost and actually moving forward into their new future.

Ronon brought news every week of the progress of the rescue mission to discover if Teyla and Colonel Sheppard were alive within the strange pocket of space into which they had fallen almost nine months ago. Halling prayed that it would be resolved soon, for then they would know for sure if she was alive or not. Perhaps then Kanaan could move on with his life. Halling looked down at Torren who had taken an interest in the large buckles on Halling's coat. The rescue mission may be able to tell them all that Teyla would not return, but would Torren understand that? Would he be able to move on? He was still so young and Halling feared for his emotional future and so Halling had decided he would begin to involve himself in Torren's life more. That way he might be able to assist Kanaan and honour Teyla by aiding her son in any way he could.

Halling stroked Torren's dark hair and looked away to the line of tents at the end of which stood Kanaan's tent. He noticed movement and the very familiar shape of Ronon Dex appeared at the far end of the tent alleyway. He was about to enter Kanaan's tent, but he paused to nod to Halling.

Adrenaline kicked into Halling's system; Ronon was days early for his usual visit. Ronon's eyes held something new and Halling understood instantly that the rescue mission was now a reality. Doctor McKay must have finally completed what he needed. Halling nodded to Ronon in return and the tall strong former Runner turned and entered Kanaan's tent.

Halling took in the fresh morning air and thanked the Ancestors that his prayers had been answered for now. They would have the answers they sought very soon. He looked down at Torren again who had returned his attention to the wooden blocks. Halling sent out a new pray that this boy would be watched over, and that if Teyla really was lost, then that he be given the strength and courage to live his life to its full without his strong and beautiful mother.

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TBC


	23. Xyl

**Chapter:** 23 - Xyl

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Xyl stretched her back, drawing in the wave of energy that filled her body. She stood in one swift lithe movement and walked the wide distance across her tent to her clothes. Behind her the two men lay mostly asleep across her massive bed. She glanced back at the two who she had had to lecture in great length in order for her to be pleasured correctly. They were both exhausted and the sight of their weak pathetic bodies made Xyl frown and turn away. Males had few benefits and after this one they were incapable of anything useful. She however felt deeply satisfied, despite the lengths it had taken her to get what she wanted from the two. Her body hummed with its repetitive reaches of pleasure and her limbs felt relaxed and full. She felt strong.

She pulled on her tightly cut trousers, the material thick and brightly coloured. She had been gifted the fabric from a lover who had long ago passed his usefulness. It made excellent material for war and she tied the closing strips around her hips, once again enjoying the deeply satisfied sensation in her lower body. Next she reached for the three layered top that tied around her, thick and protective, yet still form fitting around her toned and powerful body. She secured the ties and reached for her weapons, strapping them to the outer sides of her thighs and slid her long sword into its sheath at her waist.

Next she reached for the dangling necklace of stripped claws and animal teeth that were distasteful to wear, but she wore then as her status demanded. Her former husband had worn the necklace for many many years before his life was unfortunately cut short, literally, by one of her many lovers. Of course she had perhaps suggested the idea a few times, but she was in no way responsible for her secret lover's actions and his subsequent death. Though, now she stood as leader of the large relatively well behaved group that had followed her mate. Most had shared her bed on occasion when she allowed them, but now they followed her without question; especially after yesterday when she had been forced to remind them all of her all-knowing leadership as she had cut the throat of a would-be assassin whilst he ate the evening meal with the hunters. They feared her and they loved her. Her skills in the fighting arts were only equalled by her skills in the bed.

The necklace in place, she pushed open the entrance flap allowing the early morning light into the darkness of her tent. The men groaned in the bed. She considered ordering them out to join the others, but she decided they could stand guard over the tent instead. She had work to do.

She strode out into the pale light, passing the lines of waiting hunters. They were waiting for her order, for her leadership. She ignored the attempts to catch her eye from the males and by some of the females; she showed no favouritism to anyone outside of the bed. Ahead of her her strongest hunter waited at the head of the columns of hunters. His eyes drifted down her body, his eyes recognising the signs that she had been well satisfied. His frown of jealousy was pleasing to see as she arrived by him.

"Have Klauu's messengers arrived?" She asked as she stood in front of the hunter, now at the head of the large sprawling group of her clan.

"Yes, they are ready at all his stations."

"Good. Then we march forward." Xyl replied. Behind her she heard people stirring, felt the battle blood building through the group. She turned and regarded her hunters. They all shifted under her gaze; they were all ready. She smiled; victory was assured. The pitiful camp would have no chance against their might, combined with the added numbers of Klauu's group.

"Tonight I think I will sit in that massive ship and eat their food as we rejoice in our victory." She stated loudly for all to hear. They cheered eagerly. "We will form the line around them first. No one is to pass beyond it." She ordered. "When night falls we will begin. Take all that you want and kill whoever you wish. That camp will be ours." More cheers echoed around her as she turned and she stepped first out across the rocky ground towards the distant spire of the camp's tall ship.

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TBC


	24. Teyla 7

**Chapter:** 24 - Teyla

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The air was beautifully pure in the hydroponics bays; clean, fresh and stirred with a gentle breeze. Teyla looked across the tall fully grown grain stalks before her. The grain stirred in the air current created by the large vents at the far end of the bay. The bright green heads of grain were surrounded by yellow tinted leaves that she recognised from the tea she had taken during the early stages of her pregnancy. Her hand dropped to her massively large belly and she swept her hand in small circles over her shifting child as she took in another breath of the delightful air.

Violet Eyes moved ahead of her, leading her and John on their impromptu tour of the hydroponics factory that managed to feed the large camp. As they moved down the long room the grain grew younger, as it grew up towards the tall grains she had seen at first. The air was brighter in here, more enlivening, or perhaps that was simply because she was enjoying the tour so much.

She and John had been on their daily walk around the camp, which had been taking longer lately as her weight grew. They had been wandering around the levels of the large ship as a change when they had come across Violet Eyes and he had taken pity on her lingering boredom with the camp walks and had brought them here. He had offered this tour before, but they had never taken him up on the offer. Access to the bays was limited so that the food wasn't stolen or damaged by unsupervised people from the camp. Teyla wished she had taken Violet Eyes up on this tour before now. The temperature was wonderfully cool as well. She had been feeling the warmth of carrying the child for some days now and the baby had been shifting around more frequently, so anything that was cooling and as calming as this tour was well received.

Teyla looked over her shoulder to see John was crouched down studying the long roots of the grain. So, she turned and followed Violet Eyes knowing John felt comfortable with her being with the tall leader now.

"We only had one bay on the ship originally, but once we were stranded here and the camp began to grow we expanded it into three bays. As you can see there are all stages of the grain and vegetable. We harvest at least one line a day and plant one; therefore there is always food available." The grain lines stopped abruptly and the low bright green vegetable now filled up the long lines across the bay.

Teyla nodded as they wandered along, aware that John had caught up with them and was walking a few feet behind her shoulder. "Where is the bread made from the harvested grain?" Teyla asked as they walked along the lines of growing vegetable.

"The next level up used to be our kitchen. We use the space to prepare and cook the bread and to blanch the vegetable." Violet Eyes explained.

Teyla nodded as she peered down one line to see several people crouched down working on trimming leaves and roots. They were all dressed in clean tight fitting clothes.

The baby shifted again and Teyla paused, her hands falling to the changing shape of her stomach. John's warmth pressed up to her shoulder and one of his hands settled on her lower back. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yes, though I think our child disapproves of the amount I ate this morning."

"It certainly is an active child." Violet Eyes smiled down at her undulating belly.

"I know and it still has more to grow; I wonder what it will be like when I am even bigger." She ran her hands over her swollen belly, soothing her child with her touch as best as she could. John's hand absently rubbed her back for her.

"You are so large now, I can not imagine how you could carry a larger more active child." Violet Eyes said with a large smile as he moved forward and lifted his hand, asking permission to touch her stomach. He had already felt the baby move several times, but he was always polite and respectful. Teyla nodded and he gently touched his hand to her stomach.

"I was larger than this with my first child, though I do not remember him being as active as this one." She added with a smile, looking up at John to see him watching Violet Eyes touching her. There was no threat here and she knew John was comfortable with Violet Eyes, but he still watched him a little cautiously. She smiled; as if Violet Eyes would be tempted by her; she felt as wide and round as a Jumper. Though, John seemed to find her as attractive and appealing as ever. Despite her size their love life had not dimmed that much and she had found John to be a very comfortable pillow to snuggle herself up against to help support her belly while she slept.

Violet Eyes lifted his hand from her and smiled widely. "It is a good sign though is it not? An active child?"

"Indeed." Teyla replied as finally the baby settled, though a tight pull around her stomach signalled another practice contraction.

A door slammed open behind them and the three of them all turned, weapons ready, only to see one of Violet Eyes' people hurrying up to them, his hands held out cautiously.

"What is it?" Violet Eyes asked.

The man was clearly a little out of breath. "Sir, scouts have spotted enemy movement again. Considerably more this time."

Teyla felt John's hand tighten against her back as she slid the top of her knife back into its scabbard. There hadn't been many sightings of the enemy for sometime, but only two days ago one of the scouts had been killed, which had been the first blood spilt in awhile.

"How many?" Violet Eyes asked as he moved past John and Teyla.

The other man's eyes moved briefly onto them before returning to his leader. "Considerably more."

Violet Eyes was still for a moment. "Show me." He went to move forward, but then paused and turned back to her and John, his eyes moving to meet John's. "Would you join us? I would appreciate your input as usual."

Teyla felt John's indecision; he didn't want to leave her, especially here away from their tent. She reached out and laid her hand on his arm. "John. Go. You will be able to advise them better if you have seen for yourself." He opened his mouth to protest. "I will be fine. I will go to the washroom and then straight back to our tent. I will be fine." She repeated, lightly squeezing his arm.

He frowned a little as he pondered it over. "You sure?" He asked.

"Yes, John. Go." In truth she would feel better if John had seen what was happening out there. He had more experience than most in the camp and of course she trusted his opinion over others. They could better plan if he had assessed the situation for himself.

He nodded as he rubbing her back again, leant in and kissed her briefly. "You'll be alright?" He asked worried.

"Yes, John." She stroked his cheek as he pulled back. His hand slid from her back to slide over her belly before he turned and headed away from her. He looked back at her over his shoulder several times before he reached the distant doorway and she smiled reassuringly at him before he disappeared.

She felt suddenly so alone, though there were a dozen or so others in the bay. She hated him to be away from her and she knew she wouldn't stop worrying about him until he was back beside her. What if something happened to him out there?

She couldn't think like that, for right now she had to get moving. So she wrapped one hand around her knife's hilt and headed, slower than usual, towards the doorway and along the corridor to the stairs. She took her time, moving carefully, aware that John wasn't with her to watch her back or to gently support her by her elbow as he so often did. Though she enjoyed carrying her child, she did not like the way she was becoming limited in how fast and nimbly she could move. It frightened her slightly and she knew John felt the same; for if something were to happen in the camp she wouldn't be able to move as quickly as before. Not, that she considered herself incapable of fighting, but it was a weakness when they lived on a planet where any weakness could lead to death far too quickly.

She reached the lower floor level hearing more people moving in the corridor outside the stairwell. Another practice contraction tightened her middle and she paused and held onto the hand rail until it passed. She wondered if the baby moving so much brought on these contractions more frequently. Her belly relaxed and she breathed a sigh of relief and headed out into the busy corridor. Tightly holding onto her knife and walking as confidently as possible she moved along with the crowd until she reached the junction before the washrooms and she headed into the Ladies room.

There weren't too many people around so she paused in front of the small line of mirrors and stood up on her tip toes in an attempt to see her stomach. It was always difficult to judge how large her belly was from her view from above and since there were no mirrors in the camp other than in here, she had no real idea. John had joked that he should draw around her body's profile while she was lying on the sleeping mat and then she could stand up and see how large her outline was. She had turned down the offer, but now she wondered if it would be the only way to gauge her size, as the mirrors were too small and too high for her to really see her stomach properly.

So, she turned towards the showers and selected an area to one end, near a corner that she usually used. She pulled off her clothes and stepped into the falling waterfall. The warmth was wonderful and she stood for a little longer than normal to enjoy it. She tried to absorb the warmth into her tired muscles and she tried not to worry about John out there on the scouting mission. She opened her eyes and turned her attention to washing herself as best as she could in her massive state. She couldn't help worrying over John though and in her gut she knew something was brewing; had known it for some time and she feared that it would strike very soon. What if it was today?

Her belly tightened again, a band of pain that had her reaching out to support herself against the wall behind the waterfall. A burst of extra warmth gushed down between her legs and she paused, standing stock still shocked at what had just happened. She looked down, aware that there was far too much water still running down her inner legs; far more than from the waterfall. The tightening around her middle relaxed and she couldn't deny what it all meant; her waters had broken and the baby was coming.

She quickly washed herself again and hurried out of the waterfall as quickly as she could. She dried off in front of the warm air vents and returned to her clothes, pulling them on as she told her self to remain calm. Their one remaining watch was back in their tent so she had no idea how far apart the contractions were, but they were reasonably far apart. She could get back to the tent to gather their things and perhaps even wait for John for a while before she had to go to the infirmary. She and John had both quizzed the midwife nurses for information on birthing, for they had not been sure if they would still be in the camp when her time came around. They asked about complications and what they could do to help them and what to do at each stage of labour. So she knew that she had some time; she could easily make it to the tent and back.

She hurried her large body out of the washroom and down the corridor and part way to the tent before the next contraction started. She paused to the side of a tent and pretended she was simply rubbing her back, unwilling to let anyone know of her weakened state. The pain passed and she made it to the tent without another.

She gathered the two large bags she had made both fitted with long straps; one for John and one for her. She stood and pulled off her shirt and trousers and pulled on the long birthing dress she had made for herself. She knelt down and began to pack her and John's things into the two bags. They would take everything they needed with them to the infirmary; everything they had could fit in those two bags. She had strips of cloth for nappies and the sling and blankets for the baby.

The next contraction was abruptly painful and she panted her way through it, as she tried to scrabble through the bag to find the watch. Her hand found the circular piece of technology just as the contraction passed and she quickly set the watch so she could time how long until the next one arrived. She slid the watch on and returned to packing the bags. A contraction hit again and shocked her with its early arrival and she lifted up onto her knees, leaning forward onto her hands as she panted loudly as Doctor Keller had taught her what felt like a lifetime ago.

She squinted at the watch timing the pain and once it dimmed she realised there wasn't time to wait here for John; she had to get to the infirmary. She reached for the last items and pushed them into the bags, feeling suddenly very worried and frightened. She wished John were here, she wished she had gone straight to the infirmary. The bags ready she looked around the tent and realised she hadn't included the water skins, so she crawled the short distance to them and back. The next contraction made her cry out with the pain and she dropped the water skins and clutched at her stomach. This was far too fast. Too early and too fast. Something was wrong.

As soon as the pain died enough she picked up the water skins again and headed back to the bags and pushed them in. She knelt as comfortably as she could on the sleeping mat and looked down at the watch and tried to decide what she should do. She didn't think she could make it to the infirmary now; the pain was too great and the contractions too close together. She thought back through the morning and decided that some of what she had thought to be intense practice contractions had been labour pains; which meant that she could have been in labour for hours. She had no idea how long her labour with Torren had lasted, but she was sure it had been considerably longer than this and the contractions had only been this close together before the actual birth.

Was she going to have to give birth in the tent alone? Should she risk going out into the camp and trying to make it to the infirmary? She wasn't sure she trusted anyone out there to help her and she certainly didn't trust them to catch her baby for her. What should she do?

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TBC


	25. John 7

**Chapter:** 25 – John

**Note:** Okay so this is yet another massive chapter that just happens to be from John's pov. But, my excuse is that this chapter couldn't have been split without losing a lot.

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What worried John about what he saw was not so much the large numbers of the enemy, nor was it the clear delight on their faces through the binoculars. No, what worried him was that they were lined up around the camp and that they were not even trying to conceal themselves. This was going to hit and it was going to hit big time.

He struggled backwards along his belly to Violet Eyes and the other scout.

"Have they encircled the entire camp?" He asked.

"Those scouts that lived said yes, but there is one open section in the line." The scout reported.

"They are hoping to frighten us away?" Violet Eyes asked. "They are not even trying to hide themselves. Why have they not attacked?"

John slid the binoculars into their pocket on his vest, mentally running through scenarios. "They're intimidating us, hoping half the camp will just run through the hole in the line they've left open. They'll probably wait till night to attack so we can't pick them off as they run over the ridge and across the flat ground around the camp. They're settling down to wait by what I saw, but they're looking forward to the fight that's for sure." He added as he wiped the light sweat from his forehead.

"Should we run then? Move the camp?" The scout asked.

"These hunters will not let us run." Violet Eyes replied. "They will kill anyone who runs through that gap in their line and take anything they carry with them."

"You can't know that. They probably want the camp itself. We should run, take what we can and let them take the camp." The scout argued back.

"Do you really think those people will just allow us to leave? They have killed any of our people they had seen before. Why would they change now?" Violet Eyes stated, his nerves clearly rising. John's sure were. He had to get back to Teyla.

"They have never tried to attack us like this before, so maybe they will let us run." The scout replied, sounding desperate now. "There will be more chance of surviving to try and run than to remain. We will surely die if we stay here." He spat and moved to get up and run back to the camp.

John caught the front of the man's jacket. "You run around the camp screaming that everyone's going to die then we'll have a riot on our hands and people will kill each other long before the enemy reaches us. They want us to run; they're trying to herd us where they want us and I for one am not planning to do anything they want me to."

"You can stay here and die if you choose." The scout spat back, pulling his jacket free from John's hand. He scrabbled up to his feet and ran away down the ridge and away to the camp beyond.

"There will be a riot anyway." Violet Eyes said as they watched the man run flat out towards the camp. "Maybe we should try and run."

John looked back over the boulder he was hidden behind and looked at the clear dark line of hunters sitting and waiting against the pale landscape. "Maybe." He had scouted out a few small areas in the landscape that might be escape routes, but he knew the enemy would be prepared for that. After all they had clearly been planning this for some time.

"There are so many of them." Violet Eyes uttered, his voice finally showing the fear John shared.

John nodded. "I think they've joined forces against us."

"Do you think we should run?" Violet Eyes asked.

John took a worrying breath. "I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if that gap in the line around the camp was going to close up soon, or maybe they're going to use it as a killing ground for those running."

"The main ship is heavily built. We would have a greater chance hiding in there." Violet Eyes stated.

John had discussed that idea with Teyla several times already. "If we seal it up will the systems still work?" He asked.

"Yes. But, we would be trapped inside with the enemy laying siege outside."

John hated the idea, but else was there to do other than to try to find a break in the enemy line. "We'd probably have a better chance if we barricade in and wait for the opportunity to break out later." He swore to himself; where would they go even if they did escape? They would be back to wandering the wilderness and Teyla was so large now…

John took a breath and looked out at the enemy again. "They're settling down for now. I think we've got till night till they make their move."

Violet Eyes nodded and together they made their way back down the ridge. The urge to run was so strong that John realised he was clenching his hands so tightly that his nails were cutting into his palms. He had to get back to Teyla, see was she thought; they could risk trying to find a break in the line, perhaps fight their way through with some others or barricade into the ship. It wasn't much of a choice.

They reached the camp in quick time, exchanged nods and both headed off in separate directions. John headed down the streets already feeling the tension rising up his back, tightening his shoulders uncomfortably. He had known this day was coming, but now it was finally here he hadn't realised how much he had wanted to stay safe in the camp. This place had been okay for the past months and at least here there had been a chance that his kid could be born somewhere stable and with some medical care. But, no; now he was forced to drag Teyla out into the wilderness with him. If they lived long enough would she be forced to have the baby out there in a cave somewhere? What if something went wrong?

He turned the last corner and hurried as subtly as possible towards the tent. She better be back from the washroom, as he had no idea how much time had passed since he had left her in the hydroponics bay. He needed to plan. They would have to pack everything and fill the water skins and make a decision.

He pushed aside the tent flap and saw Teyla was knelt on the mat and she looked up with wide eyes full of relief. He headed straight over to the bucket of water to wash away the sticky dirt and dust from his hands.

"We've got serious trouble." He stated as he bent over the bucket. "They've surrounded the camp, but for one convenient break in the line. I think they're gonna hit when its dark. We can either try to run or barricade into the ship." He said as he wiped his hands dry on his trousers and reached for the water skins. Only then did he realise they weren't in their normal place. He turned to ask Teyla only to notice that she had the bags already packed. His eyes fell from her flushed face to the birthing dress she wore.

"No, no, no, no." He rushed to her side. "Not now." Up close he noticed her forehead was sweaty and her hands were around her belly. "Not now, Teyla." He begged her.

She gave him a half smile that looked tired. "I do not think I have any choice, John."

"It's too early." He added, as if that would help slow things. "What is it with your kids and their timing?!"

A contraction hit her then and she let out a sharp cry as she doubled forward. He forgot his protests and reached for her. She caught his hand and squeezed it with a deathly tight grip. He silently swore his way through the pain as she panted her way through hers. Finally she relaxed, but she didn't let go of his hand and only then did he realise how afraid she was. He reached up and brushed her hair away from her face.

"It's okay. We'll go to the infirmary. They're not going to attack until its dark, so we've probably got hours left." He argued, though in typical form they had no idea how long the day would be. The sun had still been high in the sky and moving slowly when he had returned to the camp. They really might have hours.

Her hand tightened even further around his. "I can not make it to the infirmary now. It is moving along too quickly." He heard her worry; this wasn't right. Labour lasted hours and the contractions gradually built.

"I'll carry you okay." He added, looking down at her round belly. He wasn't entirely sure he could carry her, but he would damn well manage it. He wished Ronon was here. He reached for the bags she had already packed, but her hand tightened on his again so forcefully he cried out himself.

She cried out louder though through the next contraction, panting as she sat down onto the sleeping mat. "No, John. This baby is coming now." She panted out.

"What?" He demanded in shock as she released his hand and sat back against the cushions.

She looked up at him once the contraction passed her eyes fierce and worried at the same time. "I will have to have it here."

John looked down at her bare legs as she settled herself onto the mat, reclining back slightly against the cushions she had made. Panic flared to life in his chest and he suddenly found he couldn't move. Things were moving too fast, what if the baby needed medical help?

"John?" She demanded.

"Teyla, we need a nurse or something…" He uttered.

She reached out to him, grasping him abruptly by the front of his vest. "John, if Rodney can do it, then you can do it." She explained.

He looked down into her dark eyes, seeing her need for him to be strong and to help her. That was all he needed and the realisation that she was right; if Rodney could do it…

He nodded and sat back, pulling off his vest and jacket, dropping them down with the bags and he moved to the bucket of water. He paused.

"I'm just going outside; that crazy woman who cooks her vegetable soup looked like she had some hot water." He added. Teyla nodded and he rushed out of the tent into the still bright day.

The woman was indeed sitting outside her tent across the street and John hurried as casually as he could over to her large fire on which two buckets of water were steaming. The old woman looked up from where she was cutting the vegetable slices into tiny pieces ready to make a soup.

"Any chance you could spare some of this hot water?" John asked very politely, surprised at the steadiness of his voice as he pointed to a bucket.

The old woman squinted up at him and then looked around him back towards their tent and then back up at him. "Your young on its way?" She asked.

John was surprised at her insight, but maybe he looked a state, or she might have seen Teyla earlier. He nodded.

The woman looked down at the bucket nearest John. "Take it." She looked off down the street to where a group were rushing out of their tent, bags full and hurrying down the street and away. The news was spreading. "I do not think there will be need for much soup tonight, will there?" She said.

John looked into her old knowing eyes and shook his head. "It'll be best if you get to the main ship. They'll be barricading in later."

She nodded and waved her knife to the bucket of water before John. He nodded again and picked up the hot bucket and carried it away, looking once over his shoulder as he re-entered the tent; the old woman had gone back to her vegetable chopping.

Teyla was in the middle of another contraction as he entered. "I'm here, I'm here." He babbled as he set down the bucket near her and quickly grabbed the small dish of soap and washed down his hands and after a thought his forearms as well. Her contraction passed and she was left panting, fast and shallowly. He looked down to see her face nervous and worried; her eyes wide and scared; he couldn't remember seeing Teyla so scared before.

"Hey, take it easy, okay." He offered as he settled closer to her.

"It is too early, John."

A wave of calm passed through John. It had been a gift to him in the military; the ability to focus whilst under stress, to perform when everyone else around you was in chaos. Right now she needed him and she was in pain. He crawled right up beside her and set a hand on her knee. "It's gonna be okay, Teyla. You know what this place is like; it's probably been nine months and we don't know it. The nurse said all the kids are born smaller here, so it's probably that everything's fine and we just got our timing wrong." He smiled down at her. "It wouldn't be the first time for us."

She smiled up at him at that and she took a deeper breath. He stroked his hand over her raised knee and her body relaxed. She nodded and her usual calmer, centred expression returned. "They'll attack tonight?" She asked.

"It's still bright outside; we've got plenty of time." He added, hoping he was right.

She nodded, but then in contradiction to his words her next contraction hit and she reached out for his hand again. He offered his already injured hand and winced his way through his minor pain, watching as her whole body shook with pain. He was shocked to actually see her belly undulate, a wave of movement passing under her dress.

"John, it is coming now." She panted out as she spread her legs further.

Pushing aside his fear he knelt round her leg, sitting between her spread legs and he pulled the bucket of water and some clean rags closer. She paused panting as her body relaxed again. John looked up her body and she took another breath before the next contraction hit. John dropped his eyes to see the top of the baby's head suddenly appear. He reached out supporting the tiny area of the baby he could see. He couldn't believe she was managing this!

Teyla's body dropped and she groaned as the contraction passed. John looked back up to her. "I can see the head, you need to really push next time, okay?" He said, aware that he was simply repeating what she was quite clearly aware of, but it felt like the right thing to say. She nodded and after a beat she sat up slightly, reaching out she grasped the neckline of his shirt and set one of her bare feet against on his shoulder. John braced himself against her to help and then she cried out as she pushed. Her cry was so primal and loud that it would have been frightening if he hadn't been too busy watching the baby suddenly be forced out of her and then it was mostly in his hands and he pulled the tiny thing out of her completely, the cord following behind. Teyla released his shoulder and laid back with a gasp.

John stared at the still and horribly bloodshot coloured baby in his hands as he laid it down on a rag, but the nurse had warned him that was often the case. He wiped the tiny mouth and nose as best he could, sliding the tip of his little finger over its mouth and suddenly it jerked, its arms and legs moving, surprising him and an almighty cry that almost rivalled Teyla's last cry echoed throughout the tent. John's mind blanked for a moment as he looked down at his child; alive and screaming for attention and clearly annoyed at what had just happened to it. It was okay. His mind returned and he remembered he needed to tie the cord.

"I need a tie for the cord." He managed to say as he looked up at Teyla, but she was already reaching for the pockets in his vest where he kept the ties the nurse had given him. She handed one to him and he took it quickly as he leant down over the baby and judging the right distance he tied off the cord and he sat back looking along the cord and as promised a white spot was forming half way along. He pulled out his knife, paused to clean it and then sliced through the cord. He buried the knife in the ground near him and turned back to the baby.

"Is it okay?" Teyla panted clearly exhausted.

John looked up at her from between her legs. "Two arms, two legs." He smiled up at her. She handed him a handful of rags and he took them from her slightly shaking hand. He dipped a rag into the warm water in the bucket and leant back over the baby and very gently began to clean it down. Only then as he wiped its body and legs did he realise something else. He looked back up at Teyla. "It's a girl." He told her. She smiled with tears in her eyes. John looked back down at his daughter and decided she was clean enough and very carefully he slid his hands under her tiny body.

He picked her up very carefully, worried he might hurt her. She was so small; she fit into his hands perfectly. He sat up with her and carefully leant over Teyla. She had opened the laces at the top of her dress so she could lay the baby against her skin. Teyla took their daughter and John watched as Teyla laid their child against her golden skin. His eyes watered up at that image and he blinked them away, but more arrived to take their place. His family.

Teyla looked up at him, her own tears running down her cheeks. John leant up over her again and gently kissed her before looking down at his daughter again. The cries had almost stopped and her tiny cheek was pressed tightly against Teyla and she looked like she was ready to fall asleep.

John tore his eyes away from the baby and sat back running through in his mind what else needed doing. Teyla wasn't out of risk yet and he needed to get her to the infirmary to be tidied up and the afterbirth to be delivered. The baby needed to be checked over. Some shouting outside also drew him quickly back to the current situation; they definitely needed to get to the infirmary before any kind of riot broke out.

He looked up at Teyla and their daughter and he wanted nothing more than to stay here with them and enjoy this moment, but time was against them; it always seemed to be. He had a daughter now and he needed to make sure she survived as did her mother. "We need to get to the infirmary asap." He said gently to Teyla. She looked up from the baby and smiled at him before she blinked away her light tears and he watched her assess the situation as he had done.

He grabbed some more rags and cleaned Teyla as well as he could and then helped her up. "You going to be able to walk?" He asked worried. He might have to carry her after all.

"I should be fine." She replied as John handed her the sling she had made and John took his daughter briefly, once again shocked at how small and vulnerable she felt. The tiny little eyelids broke open for a second and John stared down with a smile at the large dark blue eyes that looked back at him. Teyla took her back and John helped settle her into the soft inner blankets of the sling. John then picked up the two bags, took one last look around the tent and then wrapped his arm around Teyla.

They stepped out into what looked like a scene from an end of the world movie. People were scrabbling around throwing things into bags and rushing down the streets. John pulled Teyla tightly to his side and he felt her push her long knife into his hand. He gripped the knife and pulled her along with him as they hurried as quickly as they could through the running people and ignored the panic that was spreading throughout the camp.

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TBC


	26. Rodney 3

**Chapter:** 26 - Rodney

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With a thought the Jumper's drive pods flared to life, creating a gentle swell of presence in Rodney's mind. He turned his attention to the laptop and tablet perched on top of the console in front of him and tapped a few controls to bring up the new drive's display. He tapped another button and a vaguely auditable hum joined in with the Jumper's drive pods. Rodney checked both screens twice over, checking every reading individually.

He activated the radio without taking his eyes off the readings. "Jumper Two, how is your drive running?"

"Everything here is in the green, Rodney." Radek replied over the radio. Rodney looked up through the windshield towards Jumper Two parked across the observatory's bay and he could see Radek beside Major Lorne through the front. "We are good to go."

"We're good here too." Rodney replied before he stood up, vacating the pilot seat and slipped into the co-pilot seat, pulling the computer screens around to face his new position. Carson moved into the pilot seat and Rodney felt the subtle shift in that part of his mind that connected with the Jumper as Carson took over the controls.

The IOA had wanted two Jumpers outfitted with the new drive which had taken Rodney ridiculously long to design. They had had to build a new drive similar to the alien drive from the pirate and had had to persuade the Jumper to run with it in tandem with its drive pods. And it was at that point that Rodney had realised how little they actually knew about Jumper drive pods. Sure they had become experts at working with the cloaking device/shield, and they could handle all the power lines and connections inside the Jumpers, but actually understanding how the drive pods worked was still far above their current level of understanding. So they had had to pull apart the Ancient database on the Jumpers and even that had been in enough technical language to keep them busy for a week just to understand it.

Then there were countless safeguards built into the Jumper's drive pods to prevent tampering with its frequencies and only someone with the gene could actually make the necessary changes. It had been beyond frustrating, as whenever they hit a safeguard the Jumper would shut down for at least half an hour and then only someone with the gene could get it up and running again. Clearly these were the lengths the Ancients had gone to preventing any non-Ancients from being able to manipulate the drive pods to get the Jumpers going without the gene. And presumably to prevent others reverse engineering the pods themselves.

It had taken two long months to build the drives, get them working with the Jumper's drive pods and then to test drive them enough to work out the kinks. But finally the day had come and it had been worth all of the sleepless stressful nights and overtime, because they had two working drives and today was the day. Finally.

Rodney watched Carson settle himself into the seat that was usually Sheppard's. Jennifer was back in Atlantis as Carson had been drafted in as resident doctor for this mission. They needed as many people with the ancient gene as possible in case they had further problems with the drive pods and they had to have at least two pilots in each Jumper just in case. They had also been limited down to only six people per Jumper, because they didn't know how much space around the extra drive they might need in the back for their return trip. Rodney was till trying to forget that he had seen the two folded body bags in the supplies Carson had stored in the back.

Rodney looked back over his shoulder past Ronon, who sat looking vaguely bored, to see Colonel Walker and his two tough guys stowing their bags and weapons.

"Can we go please?" Rodney asked impatiently.

Walker looked at him with a half smile. "Sure, we're really to go." He nodded to a space marine in the back of the Jumper who activated the control to close the back hatch, whilst Walker activated his radio. "Flight, this is Jumper One, we are ready to fly." He said with enthusiasm.

"Jumper One this is Flight, acknowledged. Jumper Two status?"

"Flight this is Jumper Two, we are also ready to depart." Lorne's voice reported calmly over the radio.

"Jumpers One and Two we are opening bay doors. Godspeed."

Rodney looked out the front of the Jumper towards the dull metal bay doors that protected the observatory's bay from the vacuum outside. The metal shook and slowly parted revealing the distant anomaly. Carson lifted the Jumper and along with Jumper Two they headed out of the bay towards the gaping mouth of the anomaly. The stars surrounding the anomaly disappeared as the black centre grew larger and Rodney felt his fear rising. He had been so focused on just getting to this point, now he was actually here there was so much more to fear. And he began to have doubts.

What if this had all been a mistake? What if this wasn't the anomaly the pirate had been pulled into and they were in fact going to be crushed to oblivion by a real black hole? Was this some big conspiracy by Atlantis' enemies to wipe out as many of the important people in Atlantis at once? What if it the anomaly only became a doorway sometimes? What if they made it through, but the pocket's dynamics had changed which would prevent them from escaping again? What if they became trapped like John and Teyla? What if the drives just didn't work?

A loud scraping noise echoed through the Jumper and Rodney looked round nervously to see Ronon idly sharpening his long sword with a stone. Ronon ignored his glare and simply looked up briefly towards the approaching anomaly before returning his attention to sharpening his sword. Rodney turned back to the front wincing at the grating noise.

Everyone sat in silence as the blackness approached; the rasping sound of the stone over metal all that could be heard.

What if they made it in there; what would be waiting for them?

What if John and Teyla were already dead and they were flying in to save no one?

What if...?

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TBC


	27. Teyla 8

**Chapter:** 27 - Teyla

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The infirmary was surprisingly quiet and they had made it there in time for the last stages of labour. Teyla had been given one of the more comfortable beds and she had been patched up, only needing a couple of stitches. She had barely noticed as she had been so lost in staring at her new daughter, who was still fast asleep in her arms. Teyla couldn't seem to stop tears filling her eyes. She cried for the beauty of her daughter, for the tiny perfect little fingers and toes, and that she was alive and well. She cried for how fortunate she had been not to have any complications with her labour and she also cried for she missed Torren profoundly. She would love nothing more than have both her children together.

John re-entered the infirmary, moving across the room towards her. He had gone out briefly to check on what was happening outside. She looked at his eyes and saw that he was still calm, though obviously concerned.

"How is it out there?" She asked as he arrived by her side and sat down on the stool he had left only a few minutes before.

"Still light out, I'm guessing we'll have a few more hours yet. The camp is half empty already though." He looked over her chest to look at their sleeping child.

Teyla tilted her so he could see her better. "Are people still panicking?" She asked.

"Looks like the worst of it has passed, I think those that want to run already have." John replied, his eyes still fixed on their daughter.

"We can only hope that they made it through the gap in the enemy line."

John nodded as he sat back again and met her gaze. "We may still have time to try to get out." He suggested, but she knew he had discounted that possibility as she had already. She needed some time to recover and they would be risking too much to try to escape now. There would be a chance again later she was sure of it.

"I think there would be considerable risk in attempting that now." She answered him knowing that they were having a conversation which they had already gone through in their minds and they were already in agreement. "I do not trust that it is really an escape."

John nodded. "We'll stay then. We've got time to barricade this place up. Violet Eyes has starting on some ideas on sealing up the ship. The ship's systems will still work and we should be okay for awhile."

"Do we have any other kinds of weapons other than knifes?" She asked.

John shook his head. "Other than the C4 we saved, no. But, there might be something in this ship we can use. I'll see if I can track down Violet Eyes in a bit."

Teyla nodded again. She was feeling very tired now and the urge to sleep was very strong. John's hand landed gently over her hair and she looked round to his smile.

"How you feeling?" He asked. His eyes were soft and his touch gentle and it all made her feel so much sleepier. Despite the threat on its way she felt safe and contented right now

"A little tired." She replied.

He gave her a look that told her she must look a little more than just a little tired. "Very tired." She amended.

His eyes dropped to their daughter. "So, you picked out a name yet?"

Teyla looked down at her child, moving the blanket away from one cheek as she regarding her. "I had two names for a girl, and though I considered naming her Elizabeth…" She met John's eyes and they shared a sad smile to be thinking of their lost friend. "But, now I am holding her… I would like to call her Charin."

She looked back at John to see how he felt about the name and he smiled. "I thought you might." He looked down to Charin. "Hello, Charin." The baby stirred, pressing her cheek closer to Teyla.

Teyla smiled. "Have you chosen her second name?"

John looked away. "I'm still working on that. If you want to use Elizabeth…"

Teyla reached out and laid her hand on John's bare forearm. His skin was warm and the toned muscles beneath were solid under her touch. "Take your time." She leant slightly towards him, but he leant in first and they touched lips gently. She drew in his warmth and his smell and the desire to sleep became almost overpowering. She would have loved to snuggle up into John to sleep.

She laid back into the relatively full pillow. "Would you take Charin for awhile?" She asked and she smiled as John's eyes lit up, though he took their daughter a little nervously. She remembered him holding Torren when he had been first born like that; like he might hurt the baby.

He took Charin gently, settling her along one long forearm with such care that tears began to fill Teyla's eyes again. She blinked them away and pulled the thin blanket further up over her body and let herself relax. Through her lowering eyelashes she watched John arrange the blanket around Charin and he began to rock her gently.

Teyla woke abruptly to shouting outside and she sat up uncomfortably looking around in confusion. The infirmary was more crowded than before, though her bed was set to one side out the way. She blinked her eyes looking around trying to locate John and Charin. Her body felt thick and heavy, like she had been sleeping for many hours and she felt slightly disorientated to wake up so suddenly and to a changed infirmary. A nurse noticed she was awake and moved to her side.

"It is alright, he asked me to tell you he will be back soon. He had your child with him. She is fine." She said steadily, though Teyla could hear the shake of nervousness to her voice.

"How long have I been asleep?" Teyla asked as she settled herself more comfortably in the bed. She had to trust John was alright and she knew he wouldn't risk himself if he had Charin with him.

"Many hours. Night fell not that long ago. They began attacking just prior to that." The nurse added. She picked up a bowl of vegetable with a large piece of bread balanced over it. "He left this for you. He told me to make sure you ate some; for your strength."

Teyla took the bowl and though she did not feel all that hungry, she still felt the need to eat. She picked up the bread and broke a piece off and ate it down. She would eat, gather her strength and then see how strong her legs were and go help John and the others.

So patiently she remained in her bed, eating small pieces of food at a time and she listened to the shouting outside from the corridor and beyond that in the distance she was sure she heard someone screaming.

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TBC


	28. John 8

**Chapter:** 28 - John

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The first fires went up within minutes of the light fading. John watched from one of the small portholes in the top of the ship as the tents on the outer edge of the camp went up in flames. He held Charin closer to him where she lay in the sling around him as he studied the camp below.

Most of the outer areas of the camp had been vacated, but John could still see some people running through the streets trying to find a way out of the camp. The fires were spreading quickly, the material of the tents blazing up into the darkness. The enemy were rushing into the camp ahead of the flames and he could see them throwing things out of the tents before they set them alight. John lowered his binoculars and turned back to the kitchen behind him.

Violet Eyes and his people with a load of helpers were busy preparing some surprises for the enemy consisting of hot water and a mixed combination of spices that acted like mace as far as John understood. They had also found some bottles of oil into which they had set rags. There wasn't much else here they could use for anti siege weapons, but they would have to do. The kitchen did supply plenty of metal weapons though. John had already selected several small knifes for himself and Teyla. Violet Eyes' people had also gathered various items such as chopping boards and metal pans from the kitchen; anything to use to block up some of the holes in the hull of the ship that was now their fox hole.

John looked back out to the camp and peered downwards to the base of the ship as best as he could. The line of their barricade was going up fast. They had been using pieces of the other broken ships for the walls of the barricade. The impromptu weaponry from the kitchen was now on its way down there. The members of the camp who wanted to stay with them had all piled into the ship and John could see a load of them within the barricade armed with all manner of weapons, all ready to fight if, or rather when, the enemy broke through. John looked over the line of the barricade, judging its strength from a bird's eye view before he turned and joined Violet Eyes by the kitchen door where he was supervising everyone.

"The fires are spreading?" Violet Eyes asked.

John nodded as he reached him. "The barricade looks weaker on the left side from up here; where it meets the slanted side of the ship. We need to build it up some more on that side."

Violet Eyes nodded as he waved a few more people into the kitchen pointing out where things were. He turned back to John, his eyes falling briefly to the sling. "Maybe you should stay inside the ship."

John's natural inclination was to be out on that front line, but both Teyla and Charin needed him. "I'll stay just inside the ship; I can help out from there."

Violet Eyes nodded. "I will see you down at the entrance to the barricade then."

John nodded, hating this. "I'll see you there." With that he turned and headed down the stairs, following the people carrying the oil, pots and pans. John directed a few people in the right direction and then headed to the infirmary. The room was becoming crowded as people with minor injuries were coming in. John pushed his way through them, one arm around Charin and the other out in front to make space. He spotted Teyla sitting up on her bed her eyes on him. He pushed his way through to her.

"You okay?" He asked as he looked down up from the empty bowl by her bed to the new colour to her cheeks.

"I am feeling more rested." She replied as she leant forward to look into the sling. Charin was still fast asleep. "How is it out there?" She asked as she looked back up to him, her eyes concerned, yet determined.

"They've entered the camp and are setting fire to the tents. We've set up a barricade around the last entrance at base of the ship."

"Where are we needed?" Teyla asked as she shuffled forward on the bed.

John gently pushed against her shoulder. "Nowhere. You stay here and rest with Charin. I'm going down to help out from inside the ship." He wrapped an arm around Charin and lifted the sling up over his head and passed it to Teyla. She took it, hanging it around her.

"I can help." She replied as she settled the sling and Charin into place. As she did John pulled out a couple of small knives he had collected and set them down alongside Teyla's long knife.

"No. You stay here and rest." He told her sternly. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I want to plant a little surprise in case the barricade falls. He tapped the pocket in his vest that held the C4.

Teyla looked up from the pocket and he saw the annoyance and fear in her eyes. She wanted to help, but she was tired and they both knew Charin was what was important and she needed to be protected. "You will stay back from the front line." She gently ordered him.

John reached out and stroked his hand along the line of Charin within the sling and then he leant in and kissed Teyla's lips gently. "I'll be back soon, I promise." Her fingers touched against his cheek and he drew in the combination of Teyla and new baby smell. "I'll be right back. I won't leave you behind, ever." He whispered before he turned away quickly before he changed his mind and made his way through the crowd again, pausing to look back at Teyla and Charin from the doorway. Teyla had her large knife settled over her lap and one arm around Charin. He hated this; he wanted to stay with them, for them to be safe, for all of this to be over, but that wasn't going to happen and the best way he could look after his new family was to help out at the barricade.

He headed down the hallway at the end of which was the old entrance they had blocked up so he headed down a level to the last entrance around which the barricade stood. As he stepped out into the building warzone he could hear the shouting and violence beyond the barricade; they were almost to it already. He noticed Violet Eyes to one side, a large butcher knife in his hand and a series of smaller knives set in a holster around his waist. He didn't look too happy to see John.

"You should be inside. Take Teyla up further into the ship and stay there."

John pulled open his vest pocket and pulled out a block of C4 and a detonator. "I'm going to set our little explosive surprise first." He added.

Outside the barricade the sound of the crackling fires grew louder and gushes of air created by the fires bounced the metal pieces of the barricade against each other. Everyone inside the barricade looked round at the sound of the bouncing metal and in the distance the war cries grew louder. John listened intently to the sounds as they grew closer. He had been in many warzones over the years and he had been in similar situations as this. But most of the time what you thought you heard was far worse than what was actually occurring. However, here things were different. He had more to protect and too much to lose.

And nowhere to go but to hide his family in the ship, seal it up with the others and hope the enemy didn't find a way in. He really hated this planet.

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TBC


	29. Lorne

**Chapter:** 29 - Lorne

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The dark centre to the anomaly grew wider until it filled the entire front view from the Jumper. Lorne's instincts were to pull back and away from it and at times he felt the Jumper brake slightly in response to him, so he focused on moving forwards and to have faith in the scientists.

"The drive is working at maximum levels." Zelenka reported as he tapped on some controls on the tablet resting against the front console.

Lorne took a breath and fully committed to the mission. The Jumper surged forward as the pull of the anomaly combined with the drive pods and suddenly the anomaly was all there was. The radio crackled, but Lorne couldn't hear anything from the other end other than static crackling, but if Lorne cranked his head forward he could see the edge of the Jumper One beside them; they were still together.

The pull of the anomaly became so forceful that they began to feel it inside the Jumper even with the inertial dampeners. Zelenka said something, but his voice sounded strange, the words arriving in a strange rhythm. A tight pressure began to press down and around Lorne and the lights inside the Jumper dimmed until there was almost no light around him. Lorne tried to turn his head round, but it was too much effort, so he returned his attention to the blackness outside. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, but it felt strange, like it was echoing throughout his body in an odd rhythm. The pressure increased and he felt a flash of fear as it felt like his body was being squashed and stretched all at once.

And then abruptly the pressure disappeared and Lorne realised he hadn't been breathing properly. He took a deep breath, his vision swimming slightly, as he drew in fresh oxygen. Around him he heard everyone else groaning.

"Everyone okay?" Lorne managed to ask. Everyone groaned back that they were alright. "What was that?" He asked, but the radio finally jumped to life surprising them all.

"Jumper Two this is Jumper One; you guys okay over there?" Colonel Walker asked, his own voice sounding strained.

"Yes, Sir. Felt a little weird there for a minute." Lorne replied.

"You're telling me." Walker replied.

"It was the temporal differential." McKay supplied from the background. "No lasting affects. Probably." He added. Lorne opened his mouth to say something in response to that, but Walker began talking again.

"Right, we're reading four planets here. No stars."

"Of course there wouldn't be stars, other than the one sun the planets are orbiting." McKay interrupted again.

"Okay." Walker took control of the conversation again. "Let's first see if their locators are working. Doctor McKay?"

There was a pause on the end of the radio, but Lorne could see Zelenka was already scanning the planets ahead. Lorne looked out at the planets; with nothing but blackness surrounded them, they were lit only by the strangely pale small sun in the distance. The whole pocket felt claustrophobic and uninviting. For the first time he really began to fear that the Colonel and Teyla were lost. If they had made it through the anomaly intact, what were the chances they had actually made it alive to one of the habitable planets?

"We've got nothing here, but we knew that could happen." Walker reported. "The locators have probably been drained, damaged or too weak for us to pick up from here. Remember by the Colonel and Teyla's standards they've been here for about year and a half."

"Should we split up and check over each planet?" Lorne asked, knowing that had been Walker's plan.

"Sounds good." Walker replied. "Any other recommendations, Doctors McKay and Zelenka?"

"We don't." Rodney replied over the radio.

Lorne shared a look with Zelenka. "No, I do not." Zelenka supplied Walker.

"Okay, people. We need to be thorough, but quick about it, we've got a lot of territory to cover."

"What if their locators aren't working at all?" Someone asked from the other Jumper.

"We'll deal with that possibility if it arises. For now let's head out. We'll take the two planets to the right and you take the other two. Remember to check over both planets thoroughly, even the inhabitable one and we need to cover the entire planet surface; all that could be left are the remains of the observatory section they were in." There was a quiet moment as everyone reflected on that. "Stay in regular contact. Good luck, Jumper One out."

"Understood, Jumper Two out." Lorne replied and turned the Jumper towards the closest planet which so far appeared to have no life. It was a depressing thought that the Colonel and Teyla may have made it this far only to be pulled into the dark bare planet ahead. The HUD displayed the scans of the surface which was completely incapable of supporting life. Lorne shifted the scans with a thought and dozens of dots appeared over the barren planet surface; crashed space craft. And absolutely no life readings at all. He prayed they hadn't crashed here, but instead had ended up falling to the next planet they would check later; that world was covered in life readings, the atmosphere thick and the readings presented a world with warm skies and flowing rivers. Hopefully they made it there and were still alive. But, first the team had to check this planet, just to be sure.

He steered the Jumper down closer to the bleak planet surface and the others crowded in behind him and Zelenka in the front of the Jumper to help study the broken pieces of fallen space debris for anything that might be recognisable.

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TBC


	30. Xyl 2

**Chapter:** 30 - Xyl

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Several hunters were throwing broken pieces of furniture out of a tent as Xyl passed, the tent's former owner lay broken and long past caring outside the entrance. Xyl kicked aside a piece of a chair that fell into her path; the broken wood flew off to hit the side of another hunter's head and he turned on the man next to him mistaking it for an attack. Xyl moved on past.

Klauu stood at the end of the avenue of burning tents and Xyl approached him without concern; he was too interested in the weakly constructed obstacle that blocked their advance. Xyl paused beside him and looked up at the hull of the ship before them that had become the final standing point for the camp's inhabitants; as she had predicted.

Klauu was muttering and complaining as he clearly wanted this to be over. He was a greedy man, self involved and considered himself to be far more intelligent than anyone else. She had allowed him to control their alliance, following his ideas which had been sound and she had even allowed him into her bed. He was as greedy in the bed as he was outside of it. He clearly believed he was in control of all of this and she had allowed him that mistaken belief.

He was currently shouting orders at his people along the lines of 'push harder' and 'faster'. Words he employed frequently. Xyl turned away from him and studied a section of broken ship to the left of the avenue. It had been part of the main ship she decided before it had been sheared off during its fall to the planet; now it was a hut. She moved lithely towards it, set a boot on a pile of wooden furniture and pulled herself up onto a ledge and then up onto the top of the former section of ship. There was another spire here, so she nimbly climbed up one side, securing a place for herself within the shadows and from there she had a reasonable view down over the barricade.

She could see they had partly sealed up the last entrance into the ship. A tall pale coloured man stood outside of it waving his arms calmly clearly in control of the situation. She studied his long body, pale hair and well kept clothes and decided he would be worth saving. Another man stood up from one side and joined him. This one was darker, leaner and just as pleasant to look upon. She would try to save them both if she could. The darker man was pointing to one side of the inside of the barricade and then to the opposite side and she watched long enough to decide they had planted a trap of some kind.

She looked around the space behind the barricade noting the strength of the metal pieces and buttressed sections, before she swung back down to the roof of the ship section again. She looked down into the avenue in which Klauu was still screaming at their combined people and she noticed a group of his people holding back waiting for the barricade to fall. She leant down and swung herself back down to the ground and headed towards them.

"You have bows and arrows?" She demanded.

They looked to her and responded instantly to her commanding tone and many nodded, holding up their weapons.

"Get up on that ship section and fire down into the space behind the barricade." She ordered. The hunters' eyes lit up and they rushed forward. Xyl grabbed the front of one's shirt forcefully. "No fire. Any fires started in there will be blamed on you personally and you will be the first to walk through the flames to get into the ship." The man nodded, his face pale as she released him to join the others.

She walked back towards Klauu's side and looked briefly up at the ship section again to ensure the hunters were following her orders and saw that they were already firing down onto the enemy. The other hunters cheered as they heard people screaming in pain from the other side of the barricade.

Klauu turned to her and gave her a condescending smile. "Well done." He said as he turned back to the barricade. "It will all soon be ours."

Xyl watched the hunters pushing harder at the barricade as those on the other side were weakening. She looked down and selected a strong medium length knife from her selection and held it blade backwards as she stood beside Klauu.

"Yes, it soon will be." She said before she slammed her arm out and round burying the knife into the front of Klauu's chest. He gasped with the impact, grabbing onto her arm and he looked round at her in shock. "But, you will not be here to see that." She told him as she looked back at the barricade and pulled out the knife.

Klauu gasped again and she saw him fall to the ground out of the corner of her eye. "Did you really think I would let you order me around and then wait for you to kill me?" She asked him as he wheezed his last breaths. She wiped her knife over her thigh absently as she watched part of the barrier finally giving. The hunters were eager to push it down, but she had a suspicion as to what might be waiting for them.

She glanced down the avenue and located her lead hunter. He noticed her look and ran to her side, his eyes only briefly falling to where Klauu lay dead on the ground beside her.

"Gather our strongest and anything we can use to dig." She ordered. His eyes sparkled in the burning light as he understood her and he turned to do as she wished.

Xyl watched the barricade begin to fall and began to walk away, following the path around the ship. Behind her the explosion shook the ground and she heard hunters screaming in pain and pieces of shrapnel bouncing off the ship behind her.

She kept on walking, studying the base of the buried ship. There would be another way in somewhere.

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TBC


	31. Teyla 9

**Chapter:** 31 - Teyla

**Note:** Another long chapter, but for a change it is NOT from John's pov – what a shocker!

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Charin had woken not long after John had left and Teyla turned herself away from the crowded infirmary in order to give her daughter her first feed. Charin fed happily, apparently undisturbed by the nervousness of the people around them. The infirmary was rather subdued as everyone was listening intently to the sounds from outside. All the entrances save one had been sealed up, welded shut, yet the war screams from outside somehow managed to penetrate into the ship. Teyla hoped that was simply because there was one entrance still open and she suspected it would be closed soon. That would leave them all trapped in here. Well, at least they had food, water and lighting in here, though Teyla had to wonder how long that would last.

Charin finished her first meal and Teyla settled her gently against her shoulder to burp her. Charin grumbled through it, but after a good burp she began to fall asleep again. Teyla was pleased for now that the baby was happy and the nurses had assured her the baby was fine, though slightly small. Teyla tied up the front of her birthing dress again and settled back into the bed. She had to conserve her energy as best as she could, so she settled Charin back into the sling around her and reclined back.

She snoozed, gliding in and out of sleep as a raised voice or loud movement woke her. Yet despite her nervousness and worry for John her body demanded rest. Her mind gradually quietened and she found herself dreaming of Atlantis. She and John were standing on a balcony looking out at the vast expanse of ocean. The breeze was cool and refreshing and she turned to him, watching the air stir his hair and ruffle his shirt. He reached out to her, to hold her.

An explosion shook the room and Teyla woke up abruptly, sitting up as a light dust drifted down from the ceiling over them. The C4. John.

Everyone in the infirmary began to panic and the noise level was almost deafening as everyone scrabbled to get out of the room. The infirmary was partly on ground level and no one wanted to stay there. Teyla however had no intention of running up to a higher level. She slipped down from the bed to the far side from the running people. She laid Charin in the sling down securely on the bed and pulled off her birthing dress without concern for modesty and reached for her and John's bags. She pulled on new clothes, wincing only once as she slightly pulled her stitches. She was sore, but she could move around well enough. She pulled on her Atlantis jacket last, zipping it up securely and tied her belt around herself, her long knife hanging down against her thigh. She then reached for Charin, swaddled her up securely in her blanket and tucked her back into the sling which Teyla then settled back around herself.

Charin was awake again and upset. Teyla rocked her gently with one arm, humming to her as she pulled on her boots with her free hand. The infirmary was almost empty behind her now, though some nurses were still packing boxes with supplies and helping the slower patients out. Teyla took a moment to whisper reassuringly to Charin, arranging the sling so Charin was tightly and comfortably arranged, and part of the sling covered her slightly, protecting her. Charin calmed with that, liking being close to Teyla and all tucked up and by the time Teyla was at the doorway to the infirmary she was somehow asleep again. Teyla took a moment to smile at her sleepy daughter before she returned her attention to the situation.

Down the corridor people were running into the stairwell, pushing at each other in their desperation to get up the stairs to what they perceived as safety. Teyla paused and instead of going up she looked down the stairs. Several people were coming up and several of them were injured from what looked like arrows. Teyla's thigh burned briefly at the memory of being hit by such an arrow many months ago. She caught one man's attention as he passed her.

"What is happening down there?" She asked.

"They're sealing the last entrance, at least they were when I left. They were setting the explosion for when it was sealed, so hopefully they all made it." He offered before he pushed on past her.

Teyla took a moment to think and then made her way down the staircase. She had to be sure John was okay. A few others ran up past her, but they paid her no mind. She reached the next floor below and she moved towards the exit to the corridor. A sound shifted from the staircase behind her, like something large had fallen over. She paused, almost ready to ignore it, but something told her to check. She walked back to the stairs and listened again and a distant echoing sound rang out again, but stopped abruptly like someone had quickly stopped the noise. And it had come from the level below. Could someone still be hiding down there? Or had the enemy made in into the lower levels?

Cautiously Teyla stepped down a few stairs listening closely. Another sound echoed from below. She moved further down the staircase, trying to work out if it was someone in trouble, or trouble itself. A scream abruptly echoed from below and Teyla drew out her knife in one long movement. She should go get help, but if trouble was about to appear from the lower level then something needed to be done now. There were locks on the stairwell doors and if she could lock the lower level's door then she could slow the invasion.

She edged down the stairs. The lights flickered overhead as she reached the first landing part way down to the lower level and she crouched down peering down the next flight of steps cautiously. Nothing moved from below. The stairwell door was partly open and she could see the corridor beyond it was pitch black. She waited listening, but heard nothing, so she moved forward, sliding her self down the steps slowly and carefully. She had reached the last step when she heard a crash and a part shout from the corridors beyond. Teyla dashed the last distance and pushed against the stairwell door to shut it.

Something impacted against the other side and Teyla was glad she had only been using her arms to push the door or she would have been knocked back. Instead she turned and braced her shoulder against it, managing to keep the door almost shut.

"I need help down here!" She shouted on the off chance someone could hear her upstairs. "I need help here!" She pushed harder, but whoever was on the other side was strong and all she could do was hold the door from being opened any further.

Above her in the stairwell she heard movement. "Down here. They have breached the lower levels!" She shouted with what little energy she had. Feet pounded on the stairs and two men appeared, they rushed down to her and threw their weight against the door with her and the door slammed shut. Teyla reached past one man and slid the lock into place. The three of them stood back and watched as the door rattled.

"It will not hold them long." One man stated.

"We need to tell the others upstairs." The other added, his eyes falling to Teyla and frowning.

"We will have to seal the upper level to stop them breaching any further up into the ship." Teyla told them as she pushed past them and climbed the stairs again. Charin stirred briefly in the sling and Teyla drew her tiny warmth closer to her body. Behind her the door abruptly broke open and the man closest cried out in pain. Teyla turned back to see the enemy pouring into the stairwell. She turned and ran up the stairs. She reached the next level, ran to the door and stuck her head out into the corridor.

"John! Are you here?" She shouted loudly. This was the floor that held the last entrance which had hopefully been sealed. Surely enough time had passed for it to be sealed and any further doors. "John?" She called. Maybe he had already left this level and was upstairs looking for her. She didn't have any choice anyway so she ran back to the stairs and ran up them as fast as she could. Below she could hear shouting and she was surprised that the enemy hadn't reached her already.

She reached the next level and made it to the door when the lights went out. She didn't pause, just opened the door turned, slammed it shut and locked it. The corridor was silent behind her and without any lights she was temporary blinded.

Breathing fast she closed her eyes tightly for a few moments to improve her night vision. She opened her eyes and the shadowy lines of the corridor became clear and the dull emergency lighting flickered to life. Charin was wriggling in the sling now, whimpering slightly. Teyla hushed her, bouncing her with one arm. From the stairwell she heard more movement and she realised she had made a mistake; she should have gone up to a higher level where the others were. She was back on the infirmary level and now she was trapped here. Though, she remembered suddenly that there was another stairwell on the far side of this level, past the washrooms.

Carefully she made her way along the corridor aware that it was far too quiet. She reached the junction where one corridor led to the infirmary, a dead end, and the other to the washrooms and beyond to the other stairwell. She took that one and moved steadily down the dark corridor, her knife ready and one arm around the quiet Charin.

Behind her she heard the sudden pounding against the stairwell door, so she quickened her pace, recognising the washrooms were not too far away now. As she neared the junction ahead she heard movement and she paused nervously. She listened for a few long moments and recognised the sounds of nervous hushed voices. She would risk moving forward, but she was at risk from friendly attack as she was from the enemy.

"Hello?" She called out quietly.

"Teyla?" A voice called back and she recognised it as a nurse.

"Yes." Teyla replied and quickened her step carefully. Behind her the pounding on the door changed as the door began to give.

A shape moved and the nurse appeared around the corner, someone trying to pull her back, but she resisted and waved Teyla to her. "Over here."

Teyla ran carefully towards her and discovered there were five of them hiding outside the washrooms. Three men, one injured and two women.

"We heard the shouting downstairs so we tried to head for the other stairwell." One explained, but Teyla didn't really care as behind her echoing down the corridor came the sound of the stairwell door breaking open and the shouts of victory as it hit the floor.

"We need to reach the other stairwell." Teyla ordered indicating the corridor past the washrooms.

"We won't make it." The injured man replied.

"We have to try." Teyla ordered as the shouts grew closer behind her. She pulled the closest woman upright and pushed against her back. The others followed and Teyla herded them down the next corridor. The sounds from behind dimmed slightly and Teyla wondered if they had gone down the infirmary turn first.

Someone screamed ahead and Teyla looked round to see the lead man had an arrow embedded in his chest. Teyla bent herself over, covering Charin as she turned, pulling the closest woman with her and they ran back the way they had come. Teyla ran back to the junction they had passed through and ran into the Ladies washroom as it was the first door she came to.

The water was still falling down two walls of the room as they ran through the first large room, the water a strange alien colour in the darkened room. Teyla dragged the woman on into the next room. Teyla had her best chance here; she could pick off the enemy, stand her ground, whatever it took. She pulled the woman with her towards the room which held the toilet stalls and ran down the furthest aisle, the stalls lining it on both sides. Behind her she heard the two remaining men and the nurse entering the washroom and heading off into another room.

Teyla picked the best place and pressed her back against the wall and went still and silent. The woman next to her stopped as well, understanding to be quiet. All went silent and all Teyla could hear was their breathing and the falling water from the next room.

The silence was then broken by an abrupt shout from the next room which was followed by the clashing sounds of weaponry. The woman beside Teyla gasped and dashed away into a stall. Teyla swore to herself and followed her quietly, holding open the stall door. It would be best for the woman to stay here anyway. Teyla indicated that she should remain still and very quiet. The woman nodded, her face deathly pale and her body visibly shaking as she climbed up onto the toilet. Teyla carefully closed the stall door.

In the next room she heard the grunts of people falling to the floor and then silence again. Gripping her knife handle tightly she moved back to her former position; from which she could see movement if anyone entered the room or the next one over which was a changing room. A shadow shifted at one end.

Teyla changed her long knife into her other hand and pulled out one of the small knives John had given her earlier. She judged the distance and prayed she was judging it correctly through the dim lighting. The shadow grew larger at the far end of the aisle of stalls and a head appeared around the corner. The man was hunched over, in clear hunting mode. Teyla paused waiting for a good shot as he had yet to see her position. She threw the knife and heard him grunt in pain. He fell to the floor, the knife protruding from his throat.

Teyla drew further back into the room and waited, but her instincts told her to move, so she began to edge along the wall passing behind one line of stalls. Down the end of the next aisle of stalls aisle she saw another hunter. He was looking towards his fallen comrade and pulled back, his knife raised. He knew he was being hunted in turn. Teyla watched him from the shadows; she had the advantage of the angle. She reached to the back of her belt and pulled out her last small knife.

The man began to edge down the aisle. He was on edge, but clearly he thought someone was hiding in the stalls. He dipped down and checked under the tiny space under each door which allowed water to flow over the floor when it was cleaned. Teyla prayed the woman in the far row stayed up on the toilet or he may see her from under the stalls, even an aisle away. Teyla pulled back, hiding behind the furthest stall and waited as he grew closer, dipping down again every now and then to check under the stall doors. He was almost to her, so when he stood upright the next time she threw the knife. He moved at the last moment and the blade caught him in one side of his chest; it was not enough. Teyla moved forward, knowing she had to be quick or be in greater danger.

She kept one arm around Charin and pulled back with her other. Her long curved blade clashed against his raised defensive knife, but his arm buckled and Teyla twisted her arm and the knife plunged fully into the man's chest. He gasped and dropped backwards.

There was a shout from behind and Teyla turned to see another running towards her through the dull light. She brought up the knife, twisted and dipped under their crudely swung blade. She cut him through his middle and kicked out the back of his legs as he passed her. He fell on the other man, but Teyla didn't pause, just kept on running; she had to get out of here.

She ran into the large changing room which presented no hiding places. Tall cabinets lined the walls. The exit was at the opposite end which should open out into the waterfall room. A shadow appeared in the distant doorway. He growled and pulled at the cabinets nearest him, pulling them away from the wall and they fell down to block Teyla's escape. She understood what was happening and turned round in time to see a female warrior running towards her. She was a petite built, but fast and drew out two small knifes as she cried out, striking out wildly at Teyla. From behind Teyla heard the male climb up on the fallen cabinets to get at her. Teyla rushed at the female hunter. She didn't have much training Teyla decided, as Teyla easily side stepped the attack. Teyla cut down at one arm and the woman screamed as her hand was severed. The man shouted as he neared Teyla's back, but the woman was still a threat, so Teyla kneed her in the middle and as she fell Teyla picked up one of the woman's fallen knives.

The man shouted loudly and Charin cried out in fear. Teyla's anger crested even further at that simple sound and she threw the knife at the man. He was too close and the only place it could go was into his face. He stumbled backwards, clutching at the knife buried into his cheek. Teyla stabbed down with her blade, ending his life and jumped over him, climbing up onto the cabinets and scrambled towards the doorway.

There was still the woman hiding back in the stalls though; Teyla would go back for her from the waterfall room's entrance. The waterfall room held several still bodies as Teyla peered carefully around the doorway. The two men who had followed her in laid dead, but the nurse was sitting up in the distance, her back against one wall, blood trickling down one side of her face. Teyla paused judging the danger. Nothing moved in the room, so she risked it. With Charin still whimpering she dashed through the room, past the dead men and at least three dead hunters.

The nurse looked up as Teyla arrived and she smiled. "Teyla." She said. Teyla decided she probably had a concussion from the dim focus to her eyes.

"Are you badly hurt?" Teyla asked quietly.

"My head. He hit me. I killed him though." She replied pointing to one of the fallen men with a small knife.

"Do you know how many came in here after us?" Teyla asked hurriedly.

"I saw at least three go that way." She waved towards the room with the stalls. Teyla was pretty sure those were the ones she had killed. "Killed the woman though. The small female hunter did." She mumbled with an angry expression. Teyla cursed again. She wrapped one hand under the nurse's arm and worked to pull her upright.

"We need to reach the stairwell. It doesn't sound like they are out in the corridor; they're probably too busy trying to breach higher levels." She got the nurse to her feet.

"We won't make it." The nurse whispered back, but she managed to stay up on her feet, only wobbling slightly.

"We have to try." Teyla said back sternly. "Follow me." She released the woman slowly in case she collapsed. She didn't, so Teyla moved towards the main exit.

The corridor was even darker outside, there was some emergency lighting flickering down one end, struggling to stay alive. Teyla noticed broken light covers nearby and decided the enemy were purposefully breaking them. They had missed one it seemed, or it was taking some time to die. Teyla gripped her knife tightly and held Charin closer to her. She edged forward, bent forward listening intently. She wanted nothing more than for John to appear right now, but he wasn't here, so she would find him.

They made their way along the corridor towards the furthest stairwell. There were several bodies along the way, some hunters as well as those from the camp. Teyla paused at an intersection, but the nurse nudged her in one direction, so she moved down that corridor. Up ahead she heard sounds of someone banging around metal boxes. She crouched down, wincing at her stitches, but there was only a moments' discomfort.

Something flew out of a door up ahead, falling down into the corridor and Teyla decided the hunters were looting the room up head. It was a supply room for the infirmary if she remembered correctly; so there would be lots there to distract the hunters. Teyla moved forward, carefully and slowly; perhaps they could just sneak past the doorway. It almost worked until a hunter appeared around the far end of the corridor and shouted out. Teyla turned as the looting hunter rushed towards her through the open doorway. She blocked his attack, pushed back by the force of his strike, but she managed to slide his weapon away enough for her to release her hold under Charin's sling and punch him solidly in his face.

He growled and tried to swing back at her, but Teyla twisted a lock around his arm pulled her knife up and she smacked him in the nose with the solid hilt. He cried out and fell back. Teyla grabbed the blade from his hand and turned towards the next attack. She thrust out with the hunter's blade and skewered the man through. He looked shocked at the abrupt and unexpected attack. His weapon had been draw back over his head to slice her in two, which he dropped as fell down. Teyla stepped over him as the nurse had bent down to pick up his fallen weapon.

An intersection ahead held the stairwell door but also three hunters. Teyla didn't have time to think, instead she just reacted. She sliced out, blocked, shouted and cut. One of them managed to hit one of her cheekbones and she responded by cutting his throat. Hands were on her and she turned, striking and kicking. The sling held tight and secure to her body and the tiny weight of Charin against her and the brief cry her daughter made seemed to pour in even more energy into Teyla's body. She had fought Wraith several times over the years and had managed to hold her own, even defeat Ronon, but even she was shocked with the speed and violence with which those three hunters fell.

Everything slowed again and she was standing amidst the groaning and bleeding men. Movement from another corridor drew her eye and she looked up to see a tall female hunter standing in the distance. Teyla breathed heavily as she stood her ground, one arm around Charin, the other tightly gripping her knife.

The hunter was down the far end of a corridor and Teyla was aware there was more activity beyond the hunter, but Teyla could do nothing but stare at the female. Would she attack? Or perhaps call out to bring more hunters to fall on Teyla? Teyla stood ready, holding her ground. She was only a few metres from the stairwell, she could make it, but what if there were more hunters in the stairwell above?

The female hunter's eyes dropped from Teyla's to Charin, down to Teyla's knife and then to the men on the floor. Her cold eyes lifted back up to Teyla's and there was a beat, and then she inclined her head slightly, a vague nod that almost seemed to hold appreciation. Teyla took it as an offer, so she moved slowly towards the stairwell door, aware the nurse was close behind her.

Teyla kept her eyes on the distant hunter until the last minute and then she dashed into the stairwell after the nurse, slammed the door and set the inner lock.

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TBC


	32. John 9

**Chapter:** 32 - John

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The first arrows had begun to fall into the space behind the barricade just after John had set the C4. He pulled back with Violet Eyes into the shelter of the partly sealed entrance to the ship. People caught between the ship and the barricade took most of the fire and John moved forward with Violet Eyes towards some of the fallen, helping them into the ship.

A tent pressed right up against the barricade went up in a blaze of fire and one camp member fell back clutching at his arms which were already blistering with the heat. Another barrage of arrows showered down behind the barricade and several sailed through the new fire. John watched in horror as several hit near the C4. He dashed forward and stamped out the arrows' flames. C4 was pretty stable stuff, but those blocks had been in his and Teyla's pockets for God knows how long and he wasn't about to get blown up by his own booby-trap.

As he stamped out the last one he heard the sound of the barricade giving way and he looked up to see part of it collapsing inwards, with eager hands pushing it from the other side. "Everybody inside." He shouted over the shouting, screaming and twisting metal. They didn't need telling twice.

John ran back to the entrance and slipped inside, Violet Eyes waiting for him. John turned to the guy with the welding gear. "Seal it." John ordered. The guy nudged his protective goggles into place and then slammed a sheet of metal over the top half of the remaining opening of the entrance and started to seal it in place. The remaining camp members slipped in under it as he worked. Once everyone was in another welder fitted a second piece of metal over the lower part and began to seal it. John watched the progress worriedly, though the welding equipment was advanced and pretty quick, would it be quick enough? Through the metal he could hear the shouting growing louder and finally he heard the barricade collapsing in completely. It would be moments until they were in place for the C4. John was worried that setting it off too early would damage the seal on the entrance. Hell, he was worried by more than that; was the C4 still good? Would the detonator still work? Would it kill them all?

Violet Eyes patted him on the shoulder. "It's sealed; do it."

John took a breath, flipped open the cover and pressed the button. He was already running down the corridor when the explosion hit. The corridor actually shock with the force and John was thrown to the floor. As he scrambled up again he looked back to the see the sealed entrance still in place with no apparent holes. With a quick smile he headed off after Violet Eyes and three others. A bulkhead door was up ahead and two guys paused outside it until John passed them and then they began to push it closed. John ran on with Violet Eyes and the other guy.

"They'll disable the controls on the other side of the door, in case they do get through the entrance." Violet Eyes shouted over his shoulder.

They reached the staircase and ran up the stairs in a rush. John stopped at the infirmary level. "I'm gonna go get Teyla." John shouted up to Violet Eyes' retreating back.

"She's probably already on the upper levels." Violet Eyes shouted back as he disappeared up the next flight.

John pushed through the staircase door and ran to the infirmary. It was empty apart from one nurse and a man who were both helping an injured man out of the room. John hurried over to Teyla's empty bed; where was she? Their bags were still under the bed, but he noticed Teyla's clothes were missing from one and her birthing dress lay on the bed. She had gone up the levels. He grabbed the bags, looping them around his shoulders and ran towards the exit.

"I saw her leave not too long ago." The nurse told him as he passed. John recognised her as she had performed several of Teyla's scans through the pregnancy.

"You guys need any help?" He asked.

"No, we'll be fine."

John left and hurried back to the stairway door, but then paused and looked down the other corridor that led to the washrooms. She could have gone that way as he could still see some people disappearing around that corner. He ran down that corridor just to be sure. There were various people limping along and as John passed them all he checked everyone, but was already pretty sure Teyla wasn't among them. He began to worry. He reached the staircase and ran up to the top of the staircase which was two levels above the infirmary level. From here the higher levels were accessed through a different set of stairs, so she was probably up here. He made his way through the stairwell door only to find the corridor ahead packed tightly with nervous people. The higher levels were probably already full, or simply a traffic jam had built back as everyone upstairs tried to find a place. John stood up on his toes looking down the crowd over everyone, looking for Teyla. He didn't know how he knew, but somehow he didn't think she was here.

"Teyla?" He shouted down the corridor. Nothing came back, except some people turned their heads towards him. He began pushing his way through the crowd. "Teyla?" He shouted again. The corridor opened up into a large room, at the centre of which stood the next staircase that had led up to the more restricted areas of the ship. That staircase was packed. John moved around it, looking up the stairs trying to see if Teyla had perhaps gone up there, though he knew she wouldn't have. So he moved on, squeezing himself between people to keep moving through the room towards the far corridor, at the end of which stood the other stairwell to the lower levels; she had probably come up that one stairwell from the infirmary level. "Teyla?" He called again.

"John?" It wasn't the voice he wanted to hear, but he still looked in the direction of the voice and saw Violet Eyes waving to him above the crowd. John pushed his way through. A crying baby drew his attention for a minute, but the child was far too old to be Charin, so he ignored it and moved on towards Violet Eyes.

"John? You alright?" Violet Eyes asked his eyes were wide and worried.

"Have you seen Teyla?" John asked.

"She's not here?"

"No." John looked back down the corridor into the room beyond, but he was sure she wasn't here. Deep down he knew something was wrong, really wrong.

"We've got a problem, John." Violet Eyes added hurriedly. "They're in this stairwell." He indicated the doors behind him, which John could see had been barricaded up.

The lights flickered and abruptly died and the crowd hushed until someone wailed and then they burst into noise, all panicking and pushing each other to try and get up the central staircase. The emergency lighting flickered into life, but it was a dim pale light which only added to the worrying atmosphere of the darkened corridor.

"They're in the lower levels." Violet Eyes said. "The power systems are located in the levels buried under ground."

John looked up at his shadowed face. "They must have found a way into the underground level and made their way up from there."

Someone shouted from the far end and John looked round to see people had pushed the far stairwell door shut, but something was pounding on the far side. The hunters were in the other stairwell as well. John began pushing back the way he had come towards that far stairwell door, ignoring whatever Violet Eyes was shouting to him. He didn't have much resistance to heading towards the danger and arrived in time to see the door burst open and he watched as several of the camp members killed the two hunters who had forced their way through.

What if Teyla was still on a lower level? It was the only place he could think she could be. Had he passed her on his way up? Or he had the disturbing thought that maybe she had gone down to fight against the invasion of the lower levels. Crap.

John pulled out his largest knife and joined in with the camp members who were clearing the stairwell of hunters. John kicked his way through and cut down one hunter, pushing him over the rail. John didn't pause instead pushed on, working his way down the staircase, aware someone was telling him to come back, but John had to be sure Teyla wasn't down here. One level down the stairwell was empty, but he could hear lots of movement outside the stairwell door and down the corridor on this level.

He crouched low on the last stair and peered through the small space of the open stairwell door. He could see hunters making their way down the corridor, but by the sounds of it they were looting the rooms close to the stairwell door as well. Teyla could be hiding on this level somewhere, or what if she was still on the lower level; the infirmary level? He couldn't just ignore that possibility; he had to check.

So with his eyes on the door he edged his way slowly and very quietly across the space to the next flight of stairs. He reached them with no problem, but as he looked down them he saw two hunters standing guard at the small landing below. They stood with their backs to him; far too confident. The problem was that if they made any sound the noise could reach the hunter infested level above, which meant John had to do this as quietly as possible.

He pulled out a small kitchen knife along with his larger knife. He took aim with the small knife, judging the distance and threw it. It impacted one hunter in his back and he fell forward. The other hunter turned, but John was already rushing down the stairs and was almost to him. John had the advantage of surprise and higher ground. The hunter struck out at him, but he managed to turn the blow and thrust out with his knife towards the hunter.

In the distance John was suddenly aware of a baby crying. The guy was suddenly down without John even being aware of how he had done it. He jumped over the bodies and ran down the stairs. The crying had stopped, but he could hear the stairwell door below slam shut and the lock pushed into place. He gripped his knife tighter and ran down the last flight; no one was going to keep him from his family.

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TBC


	33. Ronon 2

**Chapter:** 33 - Ronon

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The Jumper flew high over the second planet in their search. The surface was lit by the nearby pale sun and it looked bleak and uninviting. Occasionally a small lake or raised hill would break the wide rocky ground up. Small groups of people could be seen moving around, but most appeared to be moving nervously around, hiding from one rocky outcropping to the next. As the Jumper flew over one hillside Ronon could see another group laying in wait ready to ambush a small group of thin looking men heading their way.

Ronon had read the reports from the pirate on these worlds and he understood the lifestyle that needed to be lived here. He had lived a similar way for his years as a Runner. You took what you could and stayed alive at any cost. Ronon did not doubt that Sheppard and Teyla could do that, but it was whether they had made it this far in the first place.

The Jumper crested the next rise and another piece of crashed ship came into view; their target. One look told Ronon it wasn't the piece of observatory they were looking for. Carson swore with his thick heavy accent as he pulled up on the controls and the Jumper rose back up into a low orbit over the planet, the sun glinting off the spots of metallic hull across the planet, but none if then so far had been the observatory section .

Ronon made himself sit back in his seat, releasing his tense muscles. He turned his gaze to Rodney in front of him who was bent over his laptop, fingers drumming on the console as he watched the tiny screen, waiting for anything. Ronon turned his gaze back to the planet below them.

As the Jumper rounded the planet ahead of them Ronon could see the clear line of where the sunlight ended. He watched the strange line that denoted day from night as they flew towards it and then through it the Jumper now flying through the dark night. No lights or firelight jumped out through the clouds from the surface below them, but Ronon knew why; this wasn't the kind of place you built a fire at night. The only ones who did were those arrogant and confident enough in their safety and power. Those types were the ones that would have been the greatest threat to Sheppard and Teyla.

Someone in the back sighed heavily and shifted in their seat. They had been searching for what seemed like hours. Ronon was quite prepared to stay here as long as it took. In fact even if Colonel Walker called an end to it and wanted to head back to Atlantis, there was no way Ronon was leaving. He would be dropped off on a world and he would walk it, run his way round it, until he was sure Sheppard and Teyla weren't there. He knew it might not be a logical thing to do, but it was the right thing to do.

Something bleeped in front and all eyes turned to Rodney.

"Wait. I had something there for a minute." He tapped on some controls.

"The locators?" Walker asked as he moved forward to stand by Ronon's chair looking over Rodney's shoulder. Any other day Rodney would have shifted to hide his laptop from prying eyes.

"Something. If they've been here for over a year the signals could be dying or intermittent." He tapped another button and a graph appeared. Ronon didn't understand any of that, but he felt Rodney's mood change. "It's a locator signal." He announced.

There was a pause. "Just one?" Carson asked.

Rodney tapped away again. "I couldn't tell. It's gone again."

"Should I fly back the way we came?" Carson asked.

Rodney mumbled something.

"Rodney?" Carson repeated louder.

"Maybe, turn around." He said hurriedly. "I'm boosting the sensors even further."

Ronon looked out the front and watched the world shift beneath them until they were heading back the other way, heading back towards the dim fading light of dusk ahead.

"There." Rodney exclaimed as the computer bleeped again. He typed something in and then the HUD jumped up. "There's a signal in that direction."

Ronon stood up, looking closer at the display that showed the contours and readings of the planet's landscape ahead of them.

"It's at least one locator, but it's really weak, almost gone." Rodney leant over his laptop. Carson dropped the Jumper down through the thin streaked clouds and the dark landscape opened up below. "I can't tell exactly where it came from, only that it's in this general area." He waved to the wide expanse of landscape displayed on the computer screen.

Walker shifted beside Ronon, activating the radio. "Jumper Two this is Jumper One we think we have something, would you join us?"

"We're on our way, Sir." Lorne replied immediately and Ronon heard the relief in the man's voice.

Ronon looked out into the dark landscape below and ahead of them. A glow in the distance to the left caught his eye. He leant forward, partly over Rodney's chair to try to see it clearer.

"It's gone again. I think it's straight ahead, but I can't be sure. It's too big an area." Rodney complained sounding worried.

"Then we'll search that whole area." Walker said calmly from beside Ronon.

"Start over there." Ronon said pointing towards the glowing area.

"What? Why?" Rodney asked.

"Seems like the kind of place Sheppard and Teyla would be." Ronon said with a slight smile.

The HUD came up with a thought from Rodney. "It's a blazing fire. Probably a battle or something."

"Exactly." Ronon replied.

"Can't hurt to start there." Walker added.

Carson angled the Jumper towards the glow and as it grew steadily closer it was clear that it was indeed a battle ground, but in the centre of the blazing camp there stood the wreckage of a massive space ship, its tall elegant spires glowing in the firelight surrounding it. Around the base Ronon could see people moving around. Yep, this was the kind of trouble Sheppard would find himself in.

The computer bleeped again. "I've got it again. It's straight ahead." They all looked out the front screen towards the tall spire directly ahead and Ronon smiled. He stood up pulling on his heavy coat and drew out his gun.

"Land us nearby." He ordered as he pushed past Walker to the back.

"We can't know that they're actually in there." Rodney argued as he looked back at Ronon. "They might be… someone might have found their locators and put them in a museum or something." Ronon glared at Rodney before he turned and waited by the back hatch. The two marines were ready, zipping up their vests and reading their weapons.

"Land us as close as you can, Doctor Beckett." Walker said as he readied his own weapon.

"We can't go into that. Do you see it out there!" Rodney argued. "How the hell can we find them in all that?"

Ronon sighed as he watched Walker turn to Rodney. "You're staying here with the Jumper."

"What? Why me?" Rodney protested amusing Ronon.

Carson settled the Jumper down with a bump and Ronon pressed the control to open the back hatch.

"Because we may need the Doctor with us and someone has to stay with the Jumper and have it ready for a quick exit. You have the gene and you can fly a Jumper. You stay." Walker ordered. "Jumper Two do you read?" Rodney looked upset, his mouth hanging open.

"Jumper One we are approaching your position now." Lorne said back.

Ronon waited impatiently as the back hatch lowered and as it did he leant out to look at the raging fires a good hundred yards away from the cloaked Jumpers.

"We've got a vague fix on the direction of the locator signal in the central ship in the camp. We're heading in from this side. We'll need back up." Walker stated over the radio as he approached Ronon's side.

Ronon ignored the rest of the conversation as the hatch lowered enough for him to step out into the warm night air, which was thick with the smell of smoke, blood and the sounds of war.

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TBC


	34. Teyla 10

**Chapter:** 34 - Teyla

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As the lock slid into place Teyla heard movement from the stairs behind her. She turned, knife ready. John appeared around the top of the stairs and he stopped shocked.

"Teyla!"

"John." She ran towards the stairs as he moved down towards her. Her heart was pounding harder in her chest from finding him than from the ordeal she had just gone through. John wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight to him around the sling. She felt him bury his nose into her hair as she held onto him tightly. His warmth and smell comforted her deeply and he squeezed her gently to him. He was alright and he was here with them both.

"Teyla, thank God." He said his voice tight before he pulled back enough to look down at her and Charin. He pulled back the top of the sling to look down at Charin who was awake and looked upset, though she was still quiet. The little eyes peered up at her parents. John reached in and touched his fingertips to one tiny cheek. "Thank God you're both okay." He whispered.

Teyla took a moment to drink in his presence again before reality returned. She looked over her shoulder, past the smiling nurse to the locked door. "They are just outside, John. We barely made it here."

John tucked the top of the sling back over Charin protectively. "They've taken the level above, though I managed to sneak past. We need to get back up two levels to the others." He caught one of her hands in his to lead her towards the stairs, as he did his eyes passed her to look at the nurse behind her. She saw a little sad smile pass over his features as he looked at the nurse, but then he turned and was tugging her behind him up the stairs.

As they neared the top of the last flight they slowed. John stayed in front and had to let go of her hand so that they both could be ready to fight. He peered up to the landing above them and Teyla could see enough to see that there didn't appear to be anyone watching the stairwell; well not anymore. She had seen the former guards on the stairs that John had dispatched on his way down.

John waved her forward past him and she moved carefully up the stairs, nudging the nurse ahead of her. The nurse hurried quickly across the open area through which the hunters might see them through the stairwell door. The nurse made it across in quick time and Teyla followed along next, John by her side between her and the open door. They reached the base of the stairs to the next level, but John paused. She knew what he was thinking, as she had already thought the same. He looked up at her where she stood on the first steps. He indicated the stairwell door; if he could close it quietly he could lock it and it would slow the hunters somewhat. Teyla hated him to risk himself, but she knew it was worth doing. She nodded and moved down the steps again to back him up, but he frowned and pointed her further up the stairs. She shook her head. John gave her his 'I'm annoyed but amused look' and pointed down to Charin and then back up the stairs. Teyla frowned at his tactic, but nodded reluctantly and edged up the stairs. The longer she remained to worry him the longer it would take him to get the door shut and the greater the chance he would be seen.

Teyla climbed up to the top of the first flight of stairs and waited there where she could still see him. She could hear the nurse arriving at the stairwell door above and knocking on the door begging them quietly to open the door. Teyla kept her attention on John though. He edged forward across the open floor again, but he made his way to a fallen hunter and he quickly and carefully pulled off the man's jacket and pulled it on himself. A clever move she thought proudly.

She watched John stand up and walk casually towards the stairwell door. He stopped and turned away abruptly; he had probably been seen. She watched him stand with his back to the door and stand as casually as he could, just like he was a bored guard. He waited a beat and then stepped right up to the door and shut it quickly and as quietly as he could, but the lock was loud when it slid into place. She could hear the shouts from the other side. John ran back towards the stairs, pulling off the hunter jacket which apparently smelt bad by the way he tossed it aside. He began running up the stairs and she waited until he neared and only then turned herself and hurried up the last flight of stairs.

The door was slightly open at the top and Teyla saw Violet Eyes looking though and when he saw them he opened the door fully. Teyla felt John pushing gently at her back and she heard the pounding on the stairwell door below grow in intensity. She moved up the last stairs and through the door into a crowded corridor. A small area around the door had been cleared and there were various pieces of furniture that once the door was closed behind John were all wedged up against the door.

Teyla moved further into the corridor and felt John's arm encircle her waist, keeping her close. Still breathing fast she headed to one side of the corridor through the press of people and managed to find some space against a wall and she rested her back against it in delight, taking a moment to rest.

John settled beside her and he handed her a water skin. It was only then that she processed that he had their two bags with him. She eagerly opened the water skin and drank down the water.

"When did you get these?" She asked.

"I went back to the infirmary. Where did you go?" He asked as he took the water skin from her and drank some down himself.

"I went down when I heard them breaking in on the lower levels." She replied as she checked Charin again. Her shoulder was aching slightly from where the sling had dug into her shoulder through the fighting.

"I must have just missed you when I went up." John said as he returned the water skin to a bag. He turned to her then, sliding an arm around her back again pulling her against him.

Teyla leant into him absorbing his warmth and listened to his heart beating. She reached up and stroked her fingers along the rough stubble of his jaw. He bent down and kissed her gently. "You sure you're okay?" He asked.

"Yes, I am fine." She replied as she leant herself back against his side, his solid body against her so satisfying. She looked out at the worried nervous faces around them.

"You didn't hurt yourself?" He asked gently from above, his hand still stroking her arm and she understood he was worried still.

She looked back up to him. "No, though I had to fight my way up here."

His eyes darkened and his gaze fell to Charin in the sling.

Teyla looked down into the sling as well, aware that Charin was awake and wriggling. Teyla pulled back the top of the sling and Charin's little face was revealed. She emitted a little whimper that Teyla recognised from when Torren was younger; she was about to build up into a proper cry.

"She might need another feed. I am not sure how long ago it was I fed her." Teyla considered out loud. She looked around the corridor aware people were pushing to get further away from the stairwell door, which was creating some more space around them.

"Over here." John said indicating a ledge cut into the corridor wall not too far away.

They made their way over to the ledge, on which stood what looked like a piece of metal artwork. John picked the artwork up, realised it was heavy and carried it off to wedge against the stairwell door with the other buttressing defences. As he did that Teyla knelt down in front of the ledge, pulling off the sling and she laid Charin down on the ledge. Her daughter looked abruptly tiny lying on the wide ledge as Teyla unwrapped her from her blankets to change her nappy.

John arrived by her side and knelt down beside her, pulling open one bag for her. Teyla reached in and pulled out a suitable piece of cloth and set about changing Charin. Charin grumbled, clearly wanting food and to be snuggled up again. Her little cries were growing. John leant forward, laying his forearm on the ledge next to Charin and he cupped her tiny head in his palm, gently stroking over her head with his fingers. She calmed slightly at that, looking up and around with the unfocused gaze of a newborn.

Teyla looked at John through the pale light of the corridor and she felt an ache in her chest at seeing John so gentle and caring with his daughter. He always shied away from emotion, though through the past months in which they had been lovers he had opened up that side of himself for her and she had felt privileged. Now as she watched him frowning over his daughter, wanting her to be happy and comfortable Teyla knew that though this would be challenging for him, he would be a wonderful father. She had known this before, but now to actually see him leaning over their daughter…it brought a deep ache of emotion to her chest. He deserved to experience the joy of being a parent and Teyla told herself again that they would survive this at any costs.

She turned back to the nappy, blinking away tears and telling herself that it was the hormones that still brought on so many eager tears. The new nappy in place, John took the old one away and disappeared with it. She had no idea what he did with the nappy, but she was too focused on swaddling Charin up again and trying to calm the hungry cries. John arrived by her again just as she stood up with Charin, turned and sat down on the ledge herself. She unzipped her jacket, but realised that what she wore was not all that easy to open to feed Charin, so she had to pull up her undershirt to expose a breast. John knelt down in front of her, blocking her from the rest of the corridor.

Teyla settled Charin in her arm and she began to feed happily. Teyla took some time arranging her clothing around Charin until she felt comfortable. A bundle of emotions assaulted Teyla then as she thought back to what had happened two levels below. Charin had been so close to being harmed. She ran her fingers over Charin's tiny head, her skin warm and so soft under Teyla's fingertips. So alive. Teyla took a steadying breath and looked up to the corridor drawing her strength back together. John was watching her with knowing eyes and he smiled grimly at her. She could see the same fear mixed with anger in his eyes as she felt. She nodded bravely to him, knowing he needed to know she was alright. His eyes dropped to Charin feeding and she saw that his amazement in their daughter had not dimmed. In fact she realised this was the first time he had seen his daughter feed. It was a vital moment and they were crowded into a dark corridor surrounded by frightened people with the threat of attack growing with every passing moment. Yet, when she looked at John's face, saw the mixture of amazement mixed with fascination it helped her. In the midst of this crazy violent planet they had found a deep love between them and had been granted a beautiful healthy little baby girl and that was enough for Teyla to feel strong again, to banish the fears and anger at their situation. They would do what needed to be done.

Charin finished her feed and Teyla shifted her against her shoulder to burp her. John moved up from the floor and there was just enough space for him to squeeze in beside her on the ledge. As she patted little Charin's back, John pulled her shirt back into place, arranging her clothes and even took the time to zip up her jacket for her, all whilst keeping an eye on everyone around them.

Teyla looked up to the people filling the corridor. They were oddly quiet, though there was a constant quiet nervous sound of hushed talking. Everyone kept glancing nervously back at the wedged shut stairwell door and Teyla had to wonder why the hunters were not hammering at the door as they had done before. It began to worry her.

Charin was falling asleep Teyla realised so she picked up the sling and began to pull it back on. John touched her leg as she did drawing her attention to him.

"I'll take her for awhile if you want. You should rest for a bit." He offered.

She was surprised by the immediate response that gathered in her to say no. After what had happened on the lower level she was still in defensive mode of her daughter and the instinct not to release her child was so strong she had almost denied him holding his daughter. He could easily carry Charin and she would be safe with him, and Teyla was feeling tired. It had been a very long day for her, for all of them.

She nodded to him, handing him the sling, which he looped around his shoulders and he reached out for Charin. His strong larger hands took Charin, taking her small weight from Teyla. Teyla hadn't realised how light her child was until John took her; she was so small. So vulnerable. The fear began to rise in her again as she watched John take their tiny daughter. She busied herself adjusting the sling for John around his shoulders, setting the length and securing the ties. The sling in place, Teyla ran her hands down to Charin noticing yet again how her daughter fit along one of John's forearms with space to spare and Teyla found she couldn't let go of her daughter for a moment; she had been so close to harm.

"She's okay." John said softly.

Teyla nodded and tried to stop thinking about how close Charin had been to being hurt. John wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her close, the three of them creating a tight little bubble away from the world around them. Teyla closed her eyes, nestled her cheek into John's warmth and found herself praying to the ancestors, which she hadn't done properly in a very long time. But, there was still so much to survive and if they did survive this they could be back to wandering the dry wilds of this world.

A sudden pounding on the stairwell door echoed through the corridor, causing everyone to jump in fright. Teyla opened her eyes, pulling back slightly from John to look towards the door. The pounding had stopped, like it had been a loud knock. Everyone quietened through the corridor and the room beyond; all listening worriedly.

"Are you able to understand me?" A female voice echoed through the metal door.

Nervous chatter rose and then fell through the crowd. Teyla considered the fact that they could understand the female; she must have travelled through a Stargate previously.

"Yes, we can understand you." Violet Eyes stated loudly through the door.

John stood up from the ledge, his arm around Charin. Teyla stood alongside him, adrenaline once again kicking into her system.

"Good. Do you have a leader who lives?" The female asked, her voice full of power and command.

"I live." Violet Eyes stated loudly in reply.

"Very good. Then it is with you that I wish to speak."

Teyla remembered the female hunter downstairs and had the suspicion that this was the same woman talking with Violet Eyes.

"What is it?" John whispered.

Teyla looked up at him. "I believe I saw this woman downstairs. She actually let me go, after she saw me kill several of her hunters. She looked very dangerous." Teyla told him and his free arm slipped around her again.

"Why do think she let you go?" John asked.

"I think it was because she saw me with Charin, but I would not trust her to be lenient again." Teyla added. John nodded and they returned their attention to Violet Eyes' conversation.

"…you have what you want from the camp. Just leave." He was saying.

"But, I want this ship, leader. I like the safety it has provided your camp and my scouts inform me you grow food here. It has been a long time since I have eaten anything but insect meat and tree sap." She said with grim amusement in her voice.

Violet Eyes looked round and met John's eyes before he turned back to the door. "Then, what if we were to let you have the ship would let us all go in return?"

There was a pause from the other side. "I might be persuaded to do that." She replied.

John was shaking his head. Teyla met Violet Eyes' gaze before he turned back to the door again. "What assurances would I have that you would let us all go?" He called back through the door.

"None."

"Then I do not believe we can strike a deal with you." Violet Eyes said. There was some muttering through the crowd.

"It would be a shame to have to spend so much time fighting our way in, or simply waiting for you to die until we can break in. But, understand we will own this entire ship, leader. It is only a matter of time and you should know I am a very patient female when there is something I want."

Teyla didn't doubt that. She began to suspect that the woman had let her go just so she could fight against her later when Charin wasn't around.

"I assure you we have plenty here to keep us alive for a very long time. The food you spoke of is produced on an upper level as are the kitchens and room to live. You may be patient, but are the rest of your people?" Violet Eyes challenged her.

There was silence from the other side of the door for a long moment. "Leader, it would be wise of you to simply open this door. I would allow some of those inside to join my camp and I might even allow some to leave unharmed. Those are far better odds than if I have to let loose my people on you; they will kill all of you and it will not be a pleasant end I assure you. I will let you to consider my offer, leader."

The crowd began to mutter at that, people obviously having differing opinions already. Teyla cursed the woman beyond the door; she was doing this on purpose obviously. Divide and conqueror; it was a basic and most effective tactic. It also told Teyla a lot about the enemy; that they were smarter than she had previously thought and that worried her. It also worried John she knew. Because Teyla was sure if those outside the door put their minds to it, they would find another way in which meant they had to find a way to escape before that.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. There had to be an answer. She missed Charin's weight against her, so she turned back towards John, pressing closer to draw in his warmth and look at her child. At least this time she wasn't alone, unlike when Michael had attacked Atlantis. A thought occurred to her and she pulled back from John.

"What?" He asked her worried.

"Are there spaces behind the walls for access, like in Atlantis?" She asked, already looking round at the walls of the corridor, hoping to see a hint of an access panel, but there was nothing, though it was difficult to see with the corridor packed full of people.

John dropped his arm from around her and moved quickly towards Violet Eyes and Teyla hurried after him. Violet Eyes noticed them approaching and moved away from the door to meet them.

"Do you have any suggestions?" He asked.

"Are there areas behind the walls for maintenance access?" John asked him.

Violet Eyes frowned. "No. Controls for all the systems sit in small recessed panels inside the walls." He moved past John's shoulder and tapped a section of the wall and a small drawer slid out containing various circuits and flashing lights. Teyla was surprised; the lines of the drawer had appeared to be only part of the decoration of the wall. Disappointment quickly replaced the surprise.

Violet Eyes pressed the drawer back into the wall. "There are some areas that have control systems behind the walls, but they do not run throughout the ship." He paused then, his face shifting and Teyla saw a flash of insight cross his face and her hope rose again. "Except for the air circulation system."

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TBC


	35. John 10

**Chapter:** 35 - John

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"Does anyone have an interface?" Violet Eyes asked as he moved past John towards a lit panel in the wall. One of his people appeared through the crowd with one of the electronic notebooks that John had seen them using occasionally around the ship. With Teyla behind him John followed Violet Eyes and stood watching as he connected the notebook into a hidden connection in the wall panel. The small device lit up.

"Can you control any systems with this?" John asked hopefully.

Violet Eyes looked up at him, his red tinged eyes glowing in the light from the notebook in his hand. "No. We lost most of our interface and controlling systems in the original attack."

"Attack?" Teyla asked.

"Before we were pulled into this anomaly. Our systems were very badly damaged and we couldn't resist the anomaly's pull. We managed to keep enough control to steer the vessel towards this planet and land the ship." He looked down at the tiny screen. "We lost half our crew and our entire main computer. All the systems that work now we control through backup manual systems. I can access files on the database, but I can not manipulate anything anymore. Anything I could do regarding power for the ship I would have to be back down in the lower levels to manipulate the power units directly."

John tried not too feel disappointed that that brief idea was killed straight away; it would have been great to have been able to cut off the air supply to the lower levels, drive the enemy out of the ship. Well, plan B was next then.

"How large are the air circulation systems inside? Could we crawl through them?" He asked.

"Yes, the air conduits are almost tall enough to walk through and they run throughout the ship." Violet Eyes tapped the device several times and then held it up. John looked at the tiny display of the ship which showed the entire air circ system of the whole ship. John took a moment to admire the original shape of the ship. Violet Eyes leant over the screen. "We are in this area here and these sections remain." He pointed out the outline of the ship as it stood now. John studied it closely.

"Is there any way we can get out of the ship now? Anywhere we haven't sealed up and somewhere where they won't see us escaping?" He asked.

Violet Eyes studied the screen. "The areas we sealed up where the ship was torn apart may present opportunities to escape, but we sealed it up tightly to maintain the air circulation. We would have to check all of it for a possible gap, which would be risky." He pondered out loud.

"Any airlocks?" Teyla asked as she studied the little screen from John's side.

Violet Eyes shook his head. "Any that were at ground level we sealed. If we try and escape through those they will no doubt see us. The other airlocks are well above the ground level and are not helpful. Any other escape areas I can think of are all now buried below the ground."

One of Violet Eyes' people leant in. "Could we dig our way up from one?"

John turned to Violet Eyes. "Is there anything near the surface?"

Violet Eyes studied the schematic. "The ground level is approximately here." He drew a line with his finger across the screen. John leant down further to study the display.

"This airlock; is it near the surface?" John asked pointing to one on the screen.

Violet Eyes turned the screen to study it closely himself. "I think so yes. We could open the seal and dig the rest of the way up." He looked up. "It would be risky."

"Staying here is risky." John replied.

"They said they might accept us into their camp." Someone said from down the corridor and John became aware that everyone had been listening in on the conversation.

Violet Eyes looked to the woman who spoke. "As slaves?"

The woman looked away, but it was clear she didn't agree.

John kept his gaze on the schematic, committing it to memory as much as he could. "So the air circulation runs down the levels?"

Violet Eyes turned back to him. "Yes. We would have to make our way to this area and then down the main access shaft. From there we can access any level we wish. The airlock would not be far away from a vent from which we could drop down into the corridor."

"They have breached the lower levels." Teyla added. "They could be in that level."

"We have no idea where they have been entering the ship; they might not be in this area." Violet Eyes suggested.

John stood up straight from the screen. "We'll have to get down there to find out. If they are in that area we can try to find a break in the seals somewhere else in the ship. But, as it stands this could be our best bet." He looked down at Teyla beside him. She looked up from the glow of the small screen and nodded in agreement.

Violet Eyes' man nodded as well. "We can't risk using cutting torches as they would see that from the outside, but we could take equipment to help us dig out from an airlock."

John noticed there were a lot of interested faces in the corridor; there were a lot of them to get down and out of the ship.

"If we make it out of the ship we still have to contend with the hunters in the camp." Teyla said quietly.

John nodded; it was a worrying thought. "We're just going to have to hope we can sneak out." He replied, knowing it was a slim chance, but perhaps the only one.

"We will come with you." Someone said from behind Violet Eyes. Several others chimed in, but complaints also grew.

Violet Eyes handed John the electronic notebook and turned to the crowd. "People. We have a chance here to escape. It might be difficult, but it may be worth it. If we can establish an escape route then we can sneak people out in small groups."

"And go where?" One man demanded from down the corridor.

"Away from here." Violet Eyes replied, clearly trying to control his temper.

"They said they wouldn't kill everyone. They will need some of us to keep running the ship's systems." One of Violet Eyes' people stated. Violet Eyes turned to him and frowned.

"And who is to decide who they will and won't kill? We know these enemies; they have been killing members of this camp for far too long. We have a chance here to escape and if we stay together we will have a greater chance of surviving out there."

John looked around the worried and defiant faces. He didn't really care right now, what mattered to him was getting Teyla and Charin out of here. If he could save other people at the same time then great, but he wasn't going to wait for people to make up their mind. "If you want to stay, then stay." John told the crowd.

"You don't know if you can even escape." A woman argued back.

Violet Eyes turned to her. "It is worth trying."

The chatter started up, but John wasn't listening. He turned to Teyla. "You ready?" He asked her. She looked up at him, her eyes strong and determined. She had one of their bags around her shoulders ready, and her knife at her side. He really loved this woman. The urge to kiss her was really strong, but they had quite an audience right now, so he turned to Violet Eyes. "How do we get into the air conduits?"

Violet Eyes took back the notebook John offered him. "This way."

John nudged Teyla ahead of him as they followed Violet Eyes gently pushing their way through the crowd. John was aware that a group were following them through the corridor. Violet Eyes led them to a vent set in the wall half way through the large room. The vent was near the top of the wall, but already some people had opened it and were piling furniture against the wall to access it. Violet Eyes led the way and Teyla followed him. John checked Charin's sling once more before he tucked her against him tightly and climbed up the furniture and into the vent.

He had to bend over, but the conduit was high enough so that they could walk through them, rather than crawl, though they were pretty narrow. They moved quietly along the conduit, the only sound was the scuff of boots and shoes on the metal and behind them the fading sounds of the crowd. It was almost pitch back in here, but several people held portable lights, presumably from the ship. John kept close to Teyla, one hand around Charin and the other lightly touching Teyla's back. He was still recovering from the knowledge that Teyla had had to fight her way out of the infirmary level with Charin. His skin chilled at the thought and he tightened his hold on the back of Teyla's jacket. She looked over her shoulder with a silent question, but he shook his head. Her eyes shifted to look past him and he turned to see a fair few people were following.

They kept moving through the conduits turning several sharp corners until a light up head drew his attention. Teyla stopped and John looked round her to see ahead of them a vertical shaft which Violet Eyes was peering down. John stayed silent, hoping the hunters hadn't worked out about the air conduits as well.

Violet Eyes turned back and pointed down the shaft ahead. John watched as he reached across the space and pulled open a small recess and from inside he pulled out a rope ladder. Violet Eyes carefully lowered the ladder down the shaft, checked it was secured and then climbed down onto it. Teyla was next and John watched rather nervously as she tested the ladder for herself before she carefully began to descend down after Violet Eyes.

John checked Charin's sling yet again. He didn't like not having one arm around her, even though he knew the sling would hold her, but he didn't want to let go of her. He reached for the ladder and momentarily let go of Charin as he needed both his hands to grasp the ladder and lower himself. He got a good hold and wrapped one arm back under Charin. She stirred slightly in the sling, so as he worked his way down the ladder he whispered quiet words to her to keep her calm. The last thing they needed was for someone on the other levels to hear them in here.

He looked down to see they had reached another level, but Violet Eyes was lowering the next level's ladder and began to descend that. Teyla followed him and then it was John's turn. Again he had to let go of Charin to make the change to the other ladder, but once he was on the new ladder he could hold her again. As he made his way down he looked up the shaft above him and through the dull emergency lighting in the shaft he could see there had to be a good twenty people making their way down after them. There might be more waiting to climb down he guessed.

He returned his attention to climbing down carefully, whispering randomly to Charin and watching Teyla nervously. He wanted to tell her to be careful, but knew she was already well aware of that, so he just silently worried for her.

After they transferred down another two ladders Violet Eyes paused. John saw the notebook's light from below as Violet Eyes consulted the schematic. The light disappeared as Violet Eyes climbed into the conduit; they had reached the right level. Teyla followed and John made his way carefully down to the conduit opening. Teyla was waiting for him and grasped the front of his vest to help him inside. Once he was in he rubbed his hand over Teyla's back briefly and they headed off after Violet Eyes' glowing notebook. As they moved along the conduits, passing junctions, the voices of the hunters grew and died away as they passed. John looked down one junction, hearing the voices in the room below the conduit. He couldn't make out what they were saying, though he thought he heard the word 'cutting', but he moved on following Teyla through the dark conduit.

As they moved onwards heading to the far side of the ship the sounds of the hunters grew less. Violet Eyes slowed eventually and turned to the right, following a new conduit and finally paused at a vent opening. John hustled up beside Teyla as Violet Eyes pointed downwards and then held up the notebook, pointing to a spot right by the target airlock. John gave him a thumbs up, but then had to wonder if the guy knew what that meant. He seemed to understand and the three of them crouched down over the vent cover; it opened into the room below, so they were going to have to lower it quietly. The three of them all set their fingers into the vent's cover and John nodded a count with his head and they all pushed downwards. The cover came away with some weight, but they managed to hold onto it. They worked together to turn it and pull it back up into the conduit and Violet Eyes set it aside as quietly as possible. A small group had arrived behind John, watching silently.

Teyla laid on her stomach and carefully ducked her head down through the vent. John reached out and took hold of the back of her belt, just in case. She came back up and nodded that it was all clear. She and Violet Eyes both swung their legs down through the large vent and John watched carefully as they lowered themselves down into the room below and then dropped down the rest of the way. The floor wasn't too far away, by the looks of it. He watched nervously as the two of them headed out of sight to check the area. Charin was still against John and he rubbed his hand under her, just to make sure she was still alive and well. She stirred pressing herself closer to John's chest and he felt an absurd feeling of pleasure that she was comforted by him.

Teyla appeared below with Violet Eyes and between them they carried a table, which they set under the vent. John released his hold under Charin, sat on the edge of the vent, reached across grasping the far side of the opening and lowered himself down into the room below. The table was only a foot below his feet so he dropped as quietly as he could. He climbed off the table, his heart beating at having to do that with his daughter around him. He was turning into a nervous wreck!

Teyla was by the doorway and smiled at him as he arrived by her side. He leant out of the open door way and saw the airlock just down the corridor outside. Violet Eyes edged past them out into the corridor and Teyla drew out her long knife and followed him. John turned back to see the others were easily dropping down into the room, so he shifted out into the pale light of the corridor as well.

Violet Eyes reached the airlock whilst Teyla moved past it to check the far end of the corridor. John paused by Violet Eyes and waited for Teyla to give a nod that everything was clear before he turned his attention to the airlock as well. A small window set in the door showed the small chamber behind the door and beyond that the outside airlock door. Together the he and Violet Eyes turned the emergency release handle and slowly the door released and pulled open. The door moved silently, but a small gust of stale air drifted out as it opened wide. John looked down the corridor for Teyla, to see she had been joined by some more people, so he moved with Violet Eyes into the small airlock chamber and to the far door.

The small window was dark and John could clearly see that there was dirt blocking it, but as they pressed up to the door looking upward out of the window the dirt was less just above the top of the window and John thought he could see the flicker of firelight. They were pretty close to the surface so it should be easy to dig out. The problem was if they opened this door whether the soil would collapse inward opening up a huge hole in the ground outside the ship; because the hunters would probably notice that. They had no idea where the hunters were; for all John knew they could have set up a little tent just above the airlock. But, they didn't have much of a choice; this was their best chance.

After a brief discussion it was decided to open the door slightly and see what happened to the soil outside. John pulled back, not wanting Charin anywhere near the dirt coming in, so he headed out to the corridor and joined Teyla at the far end. She seemed relaxed as he arrived.

"They do not appear to be in this area of the ship." She whispered to him.

One man turned to them. "This area is mostly taken up by the main power units; there isn't much to find on this level."

John nodded. "We're gonna open the outer door. It's near the surface, but we don't know how much of a mess it's gonna make once it's open." As if in answer behind them they heard the rush of moving earth.

John headed back towards the door. People were already passing in their makeshift digging tools. John covered the top of the sling as he peered around the door to see that outside the outer door the earth stood solidly outside the doorway and only the top loose soil had fallen in. He watched as Violet Eyes and another man pulled some more soil down with a spade made out of a frying pan and a spoon and suddenly the smell of burning wood drifted in. John moved further into the room and he could see the firelight flickering outside through the hole they had created. His heart hammered in his chest as he listened intently along with everyone else. There were no shouts of 'they're escaping this way'.

Several others carried in some pieces of furniture from the next room and they set it in the doorway. Violet Eyes stood carefully on a chair set on top of a table and carefully nudged more soil out the way until he could get his head up through the hole to look outside. Everyone watched nervously as Violet Eyes took his time looking around and finally climbed back down.

"They are around, but none of them are in the immediate area. The fires are still raging, but none of them are too close." He supplied. "We need to widen the opening and slip out a couple at a time."

John nodded as Violet Eyes turned back to widening the escape route, whilst John headed back out to find Teyla. She was already heading towards him through the dim corridor, her gaze questioningly hopeful.

"Looks like we have a chance." He told her with a small smile.

Someone shouted down the far end of the corridor, their voice full of panic before they screamed out in pain.

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TBC


	36. Xyl 3

**Chapter:** 36 - Xyl

Thank you everyone for all the kind reviews - it means a lot and helps me feel motivated :) As I have a few days off work on leave, I'm going to post another load of chapters together, so enjoy...

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Xyl climbed back up the last flight of stairs to stand outside the barricaded door. She listened closely again. There had been some loud arguing for some time, but it appeared to have quietened down now. She estimated that at least half the camp had hidden in the top layers of this vessel and from the echoing of their voices through the metal they were packed in tightly together, which was good as she wanted them nervous.

She had decided it would be worth keeping several of the camp members alive as the systems of the vessel were more complicated than she had first thought. It had been easy enough to shut down their power from the lower level, but further understanding would take time. Though she could understand the camp members when they spoke, she could not read their written language on the controls. She would need some of them and in particular she hoped to save the two males she had seen behind the barricade. She had checked the dead on the lower levels as she had stepped over the bodies and none of them had been the two males, which meant they were still alive. She also suspected one of them had been the male she had talked with through the door; perhaps the stocky pale one as the voice had been very resonance. But, that resonant voice had not been heard through the door for some time.

"Leader." She called through the door.

There was a pause and she could make out some hushed voices. "He does not wish to speak with you further." A different male answered her.

"I will speak to him now." Xyl commanded. She did not like the nervous edge to new the male's voice.

There was another series of whispering. "There has been a change of leadership in here. We would like to discuss your previous offer." The male replied.

Xyl narrowed her eyes at the door as she thought for a moment. She turned and walked back down the stairs. They had found a cutting torch on a lower level and she turned to the hunter holding it. "Cut it open." She commanded before she carried on down to the next level. Behind her she heard the snap and hiss of the torch and the abrupt screaming of the people above as the hunter began to cut through the door.

Her strongest hunter was waiting for her. Xyl paused beside him ignoring the noises from upstairs. "The leader isn't up there anymore. They are escaping." She strode down the stairs contemplating the ship around her.

"How could they escape?" The hunter asked her.

"There must be another way out of the ship." She pondered out loud.

"Surely all of them would be escaping from upstairs if that were so."

Xyl ignored his words. "Did you check all of the lower levels? Is there another way out of the ship from below ground?" She asked him.

"No. I walked around the lower levels myself. The ship was torn into several parts and they are no longer connected." He said as he trailed along behind her.

"Have the lower levels checked again." She ordered him.

"How would they get down to the lower levels?" He asked. It was a foolish question and she considered telling him so, but refrained as she was too busy thinking.

"It does not matter how only that they are attempting it." She said impatiently as she quickened her step down to the right level and then out along a corridor and out into the open. Fires were still burning; hunters were throwing anything they could find into the flames whilst others battled each other. Her and Klauu's hunters were at odds, but she did not mind for once the night was over she would be left with the strongest.

She turned to look up at the vessel standing over them. "Gather groups together and have them patrol the outside perimeter of the ship." She commanded as she looked down at the loose dirt around the hull where it was wedged into the ground. "We need only to wait for them to emerge."

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TBC


	37. Walker 2

**Chapter:** 37 - Walker

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They entered the ruined edge of what had been a camp, the remains of fires glowing and dying away around them. Ahead of them new fires were blazing and the shouts and screams of violence were loud enough for Walker to really start to worry.

Keeping a tight formation the two combined teams moved along one avenue between the wreckage of huts and tents towards the new fires closer to the centre of the camp. Above them several pieces of partial ships stood in the firelight and in the very centre of the camp the tallest massive ship stood firm. Walker paused at an intersection and looked one way to see mad chaos at the far end of the narrow street.

He had once been trapped on a world in which the System Lord who had controlled the planet had been killed and a massive riot had broken out. The people of that planet, or at least in the main city built up around the System Lord's ship, had attacked anything that had even looked like a Jaffa had touched it. Walker remembered the manic craziness that had followed; people fighting over nothing, stealing from each other and destroying anything and everything that they could. That same madness filled the air here. These people were clearly the attacking force, but they went from helping each other build up a fire to getting into a deadly tussle. This was a very dangerous place to be.

Doctor Beckett tapped Walker's shoulder gently. "I've got the signal again." He reported as his arm extended forward pointing ahead. "It's still straight ahead." Straight towards the massive ship. Walker could only hope that the Colonel and Teyla were alive at the end of this signal as he nodded and led the team across the intersection praying silently that they would remain unnoticed. They silently made their way down the next street, but quickly darted one over to keep away from a group of men pounding each other in front of a small audience cheering them on.

A massive burst of sound drew Walker's attention and he paused with the rest of the team, all eyes turning towards the dazzling burst of sparks from the far right of the camp. The sparks were followed by a burst of fire and he watched in shock as a section of a ship that stood across the camp began to shift and slowly fall down into the camp. Flaming debris scattered up as it landed over the burning tents around it and Walker could hear distant cheering.

Ronon moved forward past Walker, leading the way and Walker returned his attention to where they were as he followed along behind the big guy. Ronon's gun glinted in the fires around them, the heat of the flames hot against Walker's face as they paused at another intersection. Doctor Beckett pointed off slightly to the right now, to an area just to the right of the massive central ship.

An angry aggressive cry surprised Walker and he turned to see a large hairy man look up from where he had been standing behind the fire. His eyes latched onto them and his shout echoed out. Ronon's gun discharged and the man was engulfed in a short burst of energy before he fell down; Walker had to wonder whether Ronon had set his weapon to stun or to kill. But, that thought didn't matter as behind the fallen man others turned towards them. They had been seen.

"Keep moving." Walker ordered as he and Ronon took up a defensive line across the street and lifted their weapons allowing Doctor Beckett and the others to move across it towards the distant signal.

"Stay back or we will fire." Walker shouted at the advancing people. They didn't look like they had anything more than knifes, swords and rocks in their hands; but they could be just as deadly.

Ronon fired at one and he dropped in a frizzle of energy. The man who had been next to the stunned man laughed as the guy collapsed before reaching down and stealing the guy's weapons. Walker pulled the trigger on his P90 and cut a quick line through the dirt just in front of the enemy. Some of them paused, but others just advanced faster, their arms pulling back ready to throw their rocks and knives.

Walker began to pick them off as they approached, going for leg and shoulder wounds, but soon they were too close and too many. This could get real ugly real fast.

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TBC


	38. Teyla 11

**Chapter:** 38 - Teyla

**Warning: **Some serious blood, violence and death in these next coming chapters, so beware…

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Teyla turned looking back down the corridor to see hunters appearing around the corner. John was already pulling her forward as she turned back towards the airlock and they ran down the corridor to the open door through which other camp members were quickly disappearing.

John swung around the open airlock door and paused for her as she rushed around it and into the airlock chamber. She turned and with John they began to pull the airlock door closed behind them, pausing to let one man through, who shoved past Teyla in his desperation to get to safety. Teyla felt John's burst of aggression towards the man, but Teyla got her hands back on the airlock door and they pulled it closed. Teyla turned the lock handle as John moved away to return with a leg of furniture which he jammed through the handle, wedging it closed. Teyla looked up at the small window to see a hunter appear through it, his angry breath steaming up the small area of glass as he peering into the room.

John pulled at her arm, pulling her back away from the door and she turned to see the last few people scrambling up through the hole at the top of the far door up into the night. There was a table stood on the floor in front of the open airlock door on top of which perched a rather unstable looking chair, upon which the nurse was now standing, as she reached up to the dirt hole above her and Teyla watched as she dragged herself up and out. Loose dirt fell down into the room over the chair as the nurse scrambled up and out of view.

"Teyla." Violet Eyes waved her over as the one last person made their way up after the nurse.

Teyla reached the table and John's hand clamped round her elbow to help her up onto the table. Her stitches pulled slightly, but she ignored such a small problem as she got herself up onto the table and them up onto the wobbly chair, John's hands supporting her. She steadied herself against the wall of earth that blocked up most of the doorway. The opening was just above her head and she reached both her hands up into it, but dirt came loose under her hands, making it difficult to find a good purchase. Hands under her pushed her up and suddenly her head was up into the night air, firelight flickering through the darkness. She got her forearms over the edge of the hole and pulled herself up and out onto the solid ground.

Getting quickly up onto her knees she surveyed the area, her knife already in her hand. Most of the camp members who had already made their way out had disappeared, but one small group were waiting by the hole. Teyla looked around the area trying to orientate her self. The position was partly obscured by the angle of the ship where it was buried into the earth and fortunately there were no hunters in the immediate area.

Teyla turned looking back down into the hole to see John look up at her from where he stood on the chair. She nodded it was clear and he reached up, but turned his body so that his shoulder was against the dirt wall, therefore protecting Charin. Teyla reached down and grasped the top of his vest helping to pull him up. He turned his back against the dirt and pulled himself up and out of the hole. Teyla felt a wave of admiration at his strength. He crouched on the opposite side of the hole to her, briefly looking into the sling to check Charin was alright.

Teyla looked down into the hole again to see Violet Eyes standing on the chair and reaching up for a grip. She and John reached down and caught one of his hands each and between them they lifted him enough for him to be able to climb out. Violet Eyes breathed out a thank you as he crouched down by her and he looked around at the camp.

"The edge of the camp will be closest that way." He said quietly as he pointed in one direction; straight into an avenue of burning tents.

"Okay, let's move." John ordered and the small group obeyed the authority in his voice as they all began to move across the open path around the ship to the fire lined street beyond. Teyla moved to John's side, brushing against his arm as together they hurried across the open space, both watching different directions as they went.

They made it into the street and followed the small nervous group ahead of them. The fires were still burning well, though some of the fabric tents had completely disappeared, leaving only the skeleton of their metal or wooden frames smouldering away. She could hear the shouts and fighting grunts of the enemy, who appeared to be fighting each other as much as they had attacked the camp members. Bodies littered one area they passed by, again a mixture of the camp members and hunters. Teyla looked back, checking their six and she was struck by the image of the firelight dancing over the hull of the ship looming over them. There were so many people still trapped in there and Teyla had to wonder if the enemy had already made their way in, or had they made a deal in the end? She doubted that female hunter would simply let enemy leave unscathed.

John's hand tightened on her arm and she looked back round to see the group had stopped and saw that they had caught up with some others that had escaped with them through the airlock. But, she realised those ahead were not running, in fact they were edging backwards, knives raised. Then she saw the hunters beyond them.

She turned, gripping John's vest, urging him back the way they had come.

"They are here." A loud male voice cried out and Teyla watched as a new group of hunters rushed around the base of the ship and swarmed down the street blocking their retreat. They were at an intersection so Teyla turned to the right hoping escape would be provided in that direction only to see more hunters appear trapping them in. Behind this group Teyla saw a figure step out from behind a burning tent; the female hunter. Why was she down here? Teyla gripped her knife tightly as the female hunter looked back at her around the heads of the hunters between them. The female grinned wickedly at Teyla as she stopped in the middle of the street and crossed her arms ready to watch the destruction.

John's shoulder bumped against Teyla's and she risked a few moments to look round her assessing the situation. The group of escapees had formed into a vague circle in the middle of the intersection, but they were surrounded on all sides; three with hunters and the last side a blazing fire. Teyla returned her attention to the hunters in front of her and moved herself slightly closer to John's side; she needed to feel him there beside her. It had been a long time since they had been alone fighting their way across this world, but the same old feelings returned; the fear, the worry, the anger and the desperate need to survive. That was all increased even further now with the knowledge that their daughter was caught up in the centre of all this as well. No further thoughts were possible though as the hunters rushed in.

Teyla swung out and cut down the first who reached her, but another took his place in a second. She fought quickly and efficiently, her body moving with instincts, training and speed that her thinking mind could not entirely process. She was aware of John moving next to her; he would protect Charin with his life and Teyla wanted to be able to press her back to his as they used to fight, but they needed to keep the circle to stop the hunters breaking through to attack the other escapee's backs.

Teyla fought on, but she was aware of some of the camp members were down, including the man who had been beside her. She saw him fall down breaking open a space in the circle, so Teyla moved to fill it, cutting down the hunter who had killed the man. She was no longer so close to John's side and it bothered her, but she could do nothing but keep on fighting.

In the distance there was a blast of sparks followed by a loud creaking and shouting. The hunters pulled back slightly and Teyla took advantage of that to slice one down. Then there were only a few hunters in front of her, but the lead female hunter was still there in the distance and Teyla saw she was looking off to the left. Teyla swung her knife round, intimidating the remaining hunters before her and as she did she saw out of the corner of her eye part of a ship collapsing into the camp. The female hunter turned back towards Teyla, her eyes dropped to her fallen people with a frown. She uncrossed her arms and began to move towards Teyla. Teyla stepped forward, fighting briefly with a hunter in her way, before the female was upon her.

The woman sliced forward with her long knife and Teyla dodged the strike, sweeping in with her own knife, but the hunter deflected it with a smaller second knife that had been hidden in her other hand. Teyla pulled back, but the woman followed her, rushing into Teyla's space. Teyla dodged another blow and kicked out at one leg. The woman only grunted in response, but it gave Teyla a second to reach out and grasp the woman's arm with her free hand. The hunter's strength was very impressive, but Teyla was able to control that arm, digging her thumb into tender points trying to get the woman to release her smaller knife. The hunter resisted the pain and struck down with her other knife. Teyla blocked that, locking them into a close battle, pushing against each other's blades, as Teyla still worked to get the hunter to drop her other knife.

Teyla thought she heard John shout her name, but she couldn't let anything distract her from this battle; this female meant to kill her quickly and she was clearly very well trained.

Teyla kneed upwards, catching the female in her middle and the smaller knife finally dropped away. Teyla released the hold and pushed at the woman. The hunter pulled back, but Teyla kicked away the small knife before she could grab it and they stood apart for a few seconds, each watching the other through the firelight. Teyla watched the dark eyes of the woman, the fire glittering in her dark pupils, which shifted from Teyla to the right. Teyla shifted backwards and turned her eyes quickly to see the woman was looking at John fighting. Teyla's heart thundered in her chest, the hunter probably recognised the sling around him; she knew that John was with Teyla and that Charin was their child. The black shining eyes turned back to her and a wicked smile crossed her features that told Teyla that this woman had plans for her family. Then the hunter launched forward at her again.

They traded quick hits and blocks. Teyla managed to lock her knife around the hunter's, reached around the locked blades and punched the woman's face. She growled at Teyla as she caught Teyla's wrist in her sharp nailed grip. The pointed nails bit into the soft skin of Teyla's inner wrist. Teyla stretched her hand out towards the woman's throat, but all she could reach was her necklace. It was tough and sharp in places so Teyla gripped it, pulling. The hunter resisted the pull and the necklace came away from her neck into Teyla's hand so she twisted her grip and raked the necklace across the hunter's cheek. The woman cried out, blood gushing down her face and pulled back enough to get away from Teyla.

Teyla pulled back and realised the necklace in her hand was made up of teeth and claws. The deep cuts across the woman's face bleed fiercely and Teyla saw the fury rising in the woman before she leapt at Teyla yet again. This attack was lower and knocked Teyla back and down to the ground. The ground was hard against her back as she fell, but she managed to get her hands up to grab at the hunter over her, a knife flashing down at Teyla's face. Teyla caught the descending arm and pushed all her power into resisting it. The hunter's bleeding face dripped down onto Teyla's jacket, but Teyla ignored it reaching up with her other hand and she pushed up at the woman's chin and neck. She had a brief flash of déjà vu, as John's people called it; she had been in a similar situation against a male hunter many months ago. Now, however, John wasn't going to be able to save her. She could hear him grunting in battle, heard him call her name worriedly over his shoulder, but she didn't have time to answer him.

The hunter pushed down harder towards Teyla with the knife. Teyla decided on a different tactic and pushed the knife sideways as she changed her grip on the woman's neck and instead of pushing her away she pulled the woman down onto the head butt Teyla forced upwards. She caught her sharply on the woman's nose, again a repeat of what had happened before; people never expected that. The woman pulled back obviously in pain and momentarily blinded by Teyla's attack, but she still had her knife and she pulled her arm from Teyla's grasp. But, it was her other fist that impacted into the side of Teyla's head. The world swam around Teyla for a moment, but in that time the weight of the hunter left her as someone dragged her away. Teyla rolled away to clear space and in case another hunter went for her.

The dusty ground under her got into her throat for a moment and she coughed it out as she struggled up to her knees. She could see the hunter sprawled over someone else a short distance away, and her knife lifted, blood running down its blade. Anger, pain and fear gave Teyla what she needed to clear her head. She got to her feet, reaching for her knife that had fallen nearby. As she straightened up the world seemed to slow and she saw the female hunter stand up from her victim revealing that it was Violet Eyes beneath her, who was now bleeding from one shoulder. The hunter turned to the right, her knife rising and Teyla saw that John's back was to the woman as he struggled against two hunters. He had no time, no chance to turn and stop her.

Teyla was moving up and towards the woman, as the hunter's evil smile twisted her bloodied face and she lifted her knife in two hands over her head as she stepped the two strides towards John's exposed back. Teyla screamed out to John, but though he heard her and began to turn, he was too restricted in holding off one hunter still who had literally body grabbed him, perhaps holding him for the female's strike.

The hunter's knife hovered above the woman's head and then it began to fall as she stepped towards John's exposed back. Teyla rushed forward, pulling back her own knife in both hands and she screamed out violently at the woman.

Teyla saw the woman register the cry and for a moment Teyla thought she saw the woman's mistake register in her eyes, but the knife was still falling towards John's back and Teyla was already slicing through the air.

Teyla had no idea what metal the long curved knife was made of, but it cut through the female hunter's neck with barely any resistance. The swing carried Teyla's arms round and down and she paused, standing over the bleeding Violet Eyes as the decapitated body fell to the ground.

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TBC


	39. John 11

**Chapter:** 39 - John

**Warning: **Previous chapter's warning still applies…

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John looked down to the ground as did the hunter who had body grappled him and they watched as the female hunter's head rolled past John's feet. The hunter around John pulled back, his face shocked, but he did not release his grip on John's arm. John turned forcing his elbow further between the hunter and Charin and he looked up into the hunter's eyes. With a flash of insight John suspected the dead female hunter had been more than simply a leader to his man, but that fleeting moment of compassion was short lived as he watched the fury rise in the man's eyes.

Those angry eyes looked past John's shoulder presumably towards Teyla and now it was time for John's anger to crest. Using his peripheral vision he grabbed up the knife that was buried in the hunter at his feet. The furious hunter's eyes were back on him and then they dropped to the sling. John brought the knife up as the man's hands grabbed towards Charin. The knife embedded straight into the man's chest.

John shoved the dead man off him and the blade and stumbled back himself. He was abruptly exhausted; how long had it been since the attack started? How long had he been awake? He forced away the tiredness and fear of the hunters still circling them, though they appeared to have pulled back slightly after seeing the female killed. John took the opportunity and edged backwards to where Teyla should be.

"Teyla?" He asked over his shoulder.

"I am here." Teyla replied, but she sounded like she was on the ground. John risked looking away from the hunters to look down and behind to see Violet Eyes on the ground, blood saturating his top as Teyla leant over him applying pressure to the wound.

"Are you hurt?" John demanded of Teyla as he looked back at the hunters.

"No. Are you?" She asked back.

"No." John replied ignoring the bruises and scratches over his skin; they were nothing. He edged backwards till Teyla and Violet Eyes were just behind him and he risked another look down at them. "How is he?" John asked.

But it was Violet Eyes who answered him. "I will be alright." He answered his voice raspy and John had to wonder if the guy had a punctured lung, but John couldn't afford to take his eyes off the hunters who appeared to be gathering ready to attack again.

John heard Teyla step up to his side, felt her reassuring warmth against his arm. He kept his eyes on the enemy though. The eyes that studied him, and the remaining ten or so escapees, were more cautious now but still angry and the hunters still out numbered them many times over. This did not look good.

"Any ideas?" John asked Teyla.

The firelight glinted off the metal of her bloodied knife beside him as she shifted closer. "No. Other than we should fight our way out." There was an edge of amusement to her tone as there had been in his. John risked looking round at her and saw her look up at him in return. He felt strange; he should be panicked, angry, desperate, whatever, but all he saw was the fact that once again it came down to the two of them against the odds. He found himself smiling down at the woman he had come to love so much. Their daughter's weight stirred against him and he adjusted his arm around her, trying to comfort her. They needed to keep her alive. He watched Teyla's eyes drop to the sling.

The camp was full of the enemy and there was still so far to go to escape the camp. Even once they reached the edge; where would they go? Back into the wild bleak landscape. There they would have to go back to fighting day by day to stay alive; together with their daughter. John saw the determination in Teyla's eyes as she looked up at him again. He knew she would fight on to the bitter end alongside him and he desperately wanted to pull her against him, kiss her and promise her that he would be beside her all the way. But, a cry from the enemy drew his attention back to the oncoming fight and he watched as the front line of hunters ran at them.

John lifted his knife and one he had acquired off a hunter and behind him he heard Violet Eyes groan as he struggled to get up alongside them. In the distance John heard screaming and louder shouting, but he just kept his eyes on the hunters coming at him. But, as he blocked the first strike at him something registered in the back of his mind; had that sounded like P90 fire? He wondered for a minute whether he was hallucinating.

"John?" Teyla shouted from behind him; she had heard the same.

Then over the shouting John heard the gunfire again and the buzzing discharge of Ronon's gun. Hope and joy flared so hotly inside John that he almost missed the hunter punching out at him. John caught the guy's wrist, twisted his arm and forced the captured hunter between himself and the next hunter coming at him. The hunter paused and John thrust the captured guy at him, shoving them both over.

"Ronon!" John shouted with all his voice.

"Sheppard?!" The loud wonderfully familiar voice came back; he was close.

"Ronon!" John shouted again as another hunter leapt at him, but Teyla's knife caught the guy in his side and he fell to the ground. John kicked the hunter's knife from his hand.

"Ronon!" Teyla shouted as she pressed her back up against John's as the hunters swarmed round them.

"Teyla!" John could hear the joy in Ronon's voice even over the chaos as he shouted back. The gunfire was getting even closer and John saw the hunters around them pause, nervous and many of them darted away. Then through the burning tents John saw Ronon step into view, his long coat billowing and his weapon raised as he shot down a passing hunter who had been stupid enough to strike out at the big guy. John couldn't believe what he was seeing; he was really here!

"Ronon!" John found himself shouting out in delight and Ronon ran towards them, shooting down a few passing hunters. Behind him a team of Atlantis uniforms appeared and John could have cried, really cried at seeing them. He felt Teyla's hand on his arm, her grip super tight, full of the same emotions he felt welling in his chest.

"Sheppard! Teyla." Ronon arrived by their side, his weapon covering their backs. "You alright?" He asked. John reached out and clapped one hand on his friend's shoulder; he sure felt real.

"We're okay, but we could do with a lift out of here." John replied, his voice oddly weak.

"I think we can manage that, Sir." Another voice replied and John looked round to see a strangely familiar face.

"Colonel Walker?" John asked, the guy's face and name sliding out from his memory.

"Yes, Sir. I've been keeping your seat warm back home for you." The man replied, even as his gaze passed over the area, his P90 to his shoulder. Behind Walker Carson appeared his gloves already on as he was already seeing to some wounded. John met the doctor's eyes and they shared a smile; they were all really here.

"Colonel Sheppard is it good to see you!" Carson called out.

"You too Carson, you too." John replied, but behind the doctor John saw the hunters had regrouped.

"Colonel Walker have you got space for these people?" John asked as he looked to the other escapees who stood looking nervously at the new arrivals.

"I should think so, Sir, though it might be a tight fit. We've got two Jumpers with us." Walker replied.

Gunfire echoed from behind and John turned to see a marine and Ronon taking down the hunters who were attacking again.

"Everybody out of here." Walker ordered.

John turned towards Teyla to see she was helping Violet Eyes stand. John moved to help and between them they got Violet Eyes moving and the Atlantis personnel closed ranks around them and the other escapees. John followed the black uniforms in front of him and smiled as they passed Major Lorne who had been watching their six.

Together as a group they hurried down a street the fires already lessening. Hunters rushed at them from behind and John looked over his shoulder as best as he could as he helped Violet Eyes along. Teyla pulled away and turned to help another escapee who had been injured, so John carried on with Violet Eyes.

Up ahead the path was clearing of tents, but as the fires died away it left more directions for possible attack. That thought was quickly confirmed as several heavily built hunters burst through the ruins of a hut and landed heavily on the front two members of the rescue party. John wished he had a P90 and at that thought he turned to where a marine stood to his left and reached for the man's side arm with his free hand.

"May I?" He asked as he pulled out the weapon. The marine looked round and nodded briefly before he returned his attention to covering the left side as ahead Walker was quickly dispatching the attackers.

Violet Eyes suddenly grew heavier in John's arms and began to slump down to the ground. John couldn't keep him standing; his tall heavy weight too much. As Violet Eyes knelt down on the ground and leant forward John saw a large dark patch over the man's back; he had been stabbed in the back as well. John crouched down as Violet Eyes slumped to the ground and rolled onto his back with a heavy sigh. The man's face was pale even in the flickering firelight of the night and his strange purple eyes looked pained.

"Hey, no time to rest now." John told him as he knelt right beside him. Violet Eyes' breathing was laboured and shallow.

"I do not think I can go on; it is perhaps time to rest." Violet Eyes wheezed back. Teyla appeared by John, crouching down against him and her hand settled on top of Violet Eyes' chest.

Around them John ignored the P90 fire, instead he looked down at the man who had given him and Teyla safe haven all these long months; a man who had become their only friend on this hell of a world.

"You're coming with us. Who knows maybe we can even get you back to your home." John suggested to him.

Violet Eyes looked from Teyla's eyes to John's, his expression turning into a sad little smile. "My family are all gone. I have no one left." He whispered. "But, you do." His eyes moved to the sling around John. "Save your family, John." He said his voice growing weaker. Teyla's hand tightened on the front of the man's blood stained shirt. Carson arrived abruptly, dropping down on the other side of Violet Eyes, his hands moving straight to the wounds, but John knew it was too late.

John leant down over their friend, trying to ignore the pain in his own chest. "Thank you for all you've done for us." He whispered.

Violet Eyes smiled slightly, his lips opening to say something, but then he gasped lightly and that indescribable presence disappeared from his eyes. Carson's fingers moved to his throat and John looked up at the doctor to confirm what his eyes had already told him. Carson shook his head.

Teyla exhaled a heavy tear filled breath beside John and he reached out and covered her hand over Violet Eyes' shirt.

"We need to move." Lorne shouted from down the street and John returned his attention to their current situation and he stood quickly, pulling Teyla to her feet with him. With one last look down at their departed friend he made a silent decision before moving onwards with the team.

They made their way at a fast pace through the remaining tents, the hunters apparently having worked out now that they were best left alone. The edge of the camp appeared, broken burnt pieces of the tents and huts littering the ground, some still smoking in the darkness. Teyla ran beside him, her hand on the side of his vest, staying close and her knife still out in her other hand. The open space beyond the camp called to John for he knew the Jumpers would be out there somewhere.

Walker paused to look down at the Ancient device in his hand, no doubt checking in which direction the ships were parked. In answer up head John saw a Jumper materialise briefly and them disappear again. The group ran on faster in that direction. John looked round at the group and saw the nurse was still with them and at least ten others. At least there would be some survivors of this hell.

Up ahead the Jumper finally materialised again and John watched Lorne and Carson guide half the group on towards the next Jumper that had also materialised. The camp members paused nervously.

"It is alright." Teyla told them calmly. "These are our friends. We will give you all safe passage off this world." The nurse was the first to nod and she hurried off with Lorne towards the furthest Jumper. John was already pushing Teyla into the back of the first Jumper and up the front John saw the bizarrely enjoyable sight of Rodney McKay looking round worriedly from the pilot seat.

"You're alive!" Rodney said.

There was a large device taking up part of one side of the back of the Jumper so John guided Teyla past it and nudged her to the end of the bench to sit down.

"Yes, Rodney, it's good to see you too." John replied trying not to smile too much. The rest of the group piled into the Jumper behind them and Ronon as the last in punched his fist against the hatch control and the back began to close up. John heard the beautiful sound of the cloak going up and he moved past Teyla to look into the front area. "You certainly took your time getting here." John teased Rodney.

Rodney's expression immediately turned into indignation. "Actually you've been caught in another time dilation field; it's been half the time back home."

"Can we get going, please?!" Walker ordered as he gently pushed past John and sat down behind Rodney.

"Right, right, sorry." Rodney muttered as he turned back to the front and grasped the controls. John watched the ground shift outside and the Jumper lifted off the ground and he finally took a breath. He had never even considered that he would be in a Jumper again, that rescue was a real possibility.

He turned back to see Teyla smiling up at him rather tiredly and he moved to sit down beside her. Ronon moved past the device and stood over them with a massive smile on his face.

"It's good to see you two." He stated, his eyes bright.

"It's good to be seen." John replied. Teyla reached out and caught hold of Ronon's closest hand and he bent down and hugged her fiercely, growling in delight. John couldn't help smiling at the sight and then it was his turn and Ronon was wrapping his arms around him. John wedged a quick arm around Charin, protecting her from her new uncle's exuberance. Ronon noticed the move and pulled back, his eyes dropping to the sling around John that he must have only just realised held something important. Ronon looked up from the sling, his eyes full of the questions John knew would be forthcoming soon enough, but Ronon pulled back, one big hand falling onto John's shoulder and one on Teyla's.

"It's damn good to see you two." Ronon repeated, his hand squeezing John's shoulder tightly. Then he released them and moved away to the front, looking back at them with a smile.

John sat back on the bench, his body abruptly so tired he wasn't sure he could stay awake, but he was too happy to be alive and back in a Jumper to sleep. Teyla's hand fell against his and he caught her fingers in his and suddenly he realised they really had made it. They were free of that planet forever. He looked round at her and saw that beautiful smile of hers, but also the tiredness just under it. The lights of the Jumper were harshly bright to his eyes, but it allowed him to see her clearly for the first time in many long dangerous hours and he squeezed her hand as they smiled at each other. They were free.

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TBC


	40. Carson

**Chapter:** 40 - Carson

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Carson secured the end of the bandage around the woman's arm and he smiled at her reassuringly. "There you go, luv." He said and she frowned a little at him before smiling back a little self consciously.

Carson had made sure that the two survivors with the most worrying wounds were travelling in this Jumper, but now he had checked them over they didn't appear in too bad a state. The worst was a stab wound, but the woman had already taken care of basic first air for herself, having tightly wrapped the cut and kept her arm up. She had allowed him to look at the damage rather cautiously. She would need some minor surgery once they reached the temporary medical area Carson had set up in the observatory, but for now she was alright. Of course she seemed very thin and malnourished, as they all did. Though, as Carson looked towards where Teyla was sleeping, her head resting against the Colonel's shoulder, Carson thought she looked the healthiest out of all of them, in fact she looked like she had slightly more weight than when he had last seen her. He pushed aside that odd little observation for now and returned his attention to the other survivors.

They were all very anxious and their faces and hands were dirtied and bloodied. Carson had seen enough people come out of war zones to recognise the wild look in their eyes, but there was more here. These people were used to being frightened, being cautious. All of them had sat themselves with their backs against a wall of the Jumper and they kept staring up at the two marines who sat quietly in the back with Carson. He knew the two were there to watch over him, but he wished they wouldn't as they were making his patients anxious. But, this was hardly the first time he had found himself in this kind of situation, so he sat back and regarded his reluctant patients.

They were okay for now. Once they reached the observatory he could properly take care of them. He mentally patted himself on the back for taking the time to properly outfit the medical area of the observatory, though they would need more beds now. They hadn't known what kind of state John and Teyla might have been in, so Carson had planned for everything. He had a sterilised surgery area waiting, so he would be able to take care of the minor surgery as soon as they got there.

Carson pulled off his bloodied gloves and decided he could finally turn his attention to John and Teyla. The two of them had been relatively unscathed from what Carson had seen and so he had focused on the more immediate needs of the other survivors. Now he turned and made his way through the tight space towards his returned friends.

He had barely recognised them when he had first seen them through the burning war zone; they had been in the middle of a fight, blood and dirt obscuring their faces through the darkness. John appeared as skinny as the other survivors Carson noted as he neared him. He was looking through to the front of the Jumper and looked like he was about to fall asleep as well, though was clearly fighting it. Carson reached out as he neared him and rested his hand on John's shoulder.

John reacted immediately, his body twisting round and tensing as he wiped round to face Carson head on, a knife suddenly in his hand. Carson pulled back and froze waiting for the wild anger to disappear from the Colonel's face. The survivors bristled in the back of the Jumper and Teyla woke abruptly, a knife in her hand as well.

"Its okay, John, it's me." Carson uttered calmly though his heart hammered in his chest in response to the force of John's reaction and the aggression in the man's eyes. Carson knew he should have known better than to startle someone in this situation like that, even if he was a close friend.

Awareness returned to John's eyes and Carson saw a flash of embarrassment as he blinked. "Carson, sorry. I'm sorry." John took a breath, visibly calming himself and Carson realised he needed to breathe as well.

"It was my fault." Carson told him. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

Teyla relaxed as well, her knife sliding back into its scabbard with a brief smooth scratch. Carson smiled at her as well, his hands still up. She smiled at him with an apologetic sweet tired smile.

John's hand landed on Carson's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Carson. What did you want?"

Carson relaxed finally, though his heart was still racing. Behind him he heard the survivors settling again.

"Are you injured at all, Colonel?" He asked formally.

John shook his head. "No, I'm fine." He replied, still appearing a little shaken at his reaction, though Carson presumed that John had had to react many times like that over the past year and a half. Carson wondered how much danger he had nearly placed himself in there. But, he pushed that belated worry aside. He studied John, taking in the small cuts that had been bleeding across one cheek.

"How about I clean up a couple of these cuts?" He suggested. John looked surprised and touched his own face seeking out the cuts that appeared to already be sealing to Carson's eyes, but he wanted to make sure and perhaps to re-establish some trust between them.

"Okay." John replied with a nod, which made Carson feel better.

Carson reached down and pulled out some wipes from his case; he was almost out after having cleaned up the other survivors. He pulled on some new gloves and he paused showing John the wipe and his hands clearly. "You ready?" He asked with only a touch of amusement, because he knew John would appreciate that.

And he did as a smile lit John's face for a moment. "Yep, go for it." He added.

Carson smiled and lent in. Then abruptly something moved and jerked from John's front and Carson gasped and pulled back startled again. John reached out to him as his other arm tightened around what Carson had thought to simply be a bag around John's body.

"It's alright, Carson." John told him with laughter in his voice.

Carson sighed and pulled himself together; he hadn't realised how shaken he had still been after John's previous response. He laughed at himself briefly before he registered what this meant. He leant forward towards what he now registered as a baby sling around John.

"Well, who do we have here then?" He asked softly.

John pulled back the top of the sling to reveal a tiny little baby, perhaps only a few days old from the little Carson could see. Tiny eyes were screwed up tight as it turned closer to John's warmth. Abruptly Teyla's healthier fleshed out form made more sense and Carson looked to her to see her smiling down at the baby around John's shoulder. This was Teyla's baby?

"And what is your name?" Carson asked as he peered further into the sling at the cute little being. He always had a soft spot for babies.

"Her name is Charin." John replied, which only confirmed Carson's theory; this was Teyla's child. He looked up at John and saw a softness to his face and a wonderment to his expression as he looked down at Charin and Carson suddenly realised this might be John's child as well. It was an unexpected thought, but Carson wasn't really surprised that these two might have become a couple. Their close friendship and attraction to each other had been clear from the first time Carson had seen them interacting all those years ago. Carson wanted to ask to be sure, but this was hardly the place and instead he turned his attention to assessing another patient he hadn't realised he had.

"How old is she?" He asked as he pulled back the sling enough to see her. She looked pretty contented.

John looked at Teyla and Carson saw her frown as she looked at a dirtied watch on her wrist. "Perhaps ten hours." She replied. Carson smiled; Charin wasn't even a day old.

"She alright?" He asked Teyla carefully.

She nodded in reply. "The nurses said she is healthy, though she is small."

"They said most kids born in the camp tend to be small." John added, perhaps a little defensively Carson thought. He had also noticed how John had pulled back slightly, his arm around Charin protectively. Carson didn't think John had known he was doing it, but it was clear to Carson that they had all been through some seriously tough times. Carson admired these two even more and he couldn't help the wide smile that filled his face and he felt a slight wetness in his eyes, which he blinked away quickly; he was such a softy.

"Well, congratulations." He whispered to Teyla, his eyes sliding to John as well, but he was looking down to cover Charin up protectively again. Carson looked back to Teyla and she smiled knowingly and nodded slightly. Carson couldn't help smiling again. "It's good to have you back. All of you." He added as he smiled down at the sling again.

"Carson, I need you up front." Rodney called from the pilot seat with that commanding arrogant tone of his. John rolled his eyes for Carson, but he could see the amusement in John's eyes.

"I'm on my way, Rodney." Carson replied as he stood back from the little family, pulled off his gloves and with one last smile he moved to the front area. "What do you need, Rodney?" He asked.

Rodney stood up from the controls. "I need you take over while I bring the extra drive online."

Carson slipped around Rodney and took the controls from him, settling into the pilot seat. He focused his attention onto the Jumper and felt the subtle response in his mind from it.

"Our exit out of the pocket is just up ahead so follow the reading on the HUD." Rodney commanded. Carson looked up to the HUD which displayed their path and a circular target ahead, though Carson couldn't see anything out in the darkness that corresponded to the circle. But he trusted Rodney so he corrected their path very slightly to head directly towards the target on the HUD.

Rodney tapped away beside him and from the back Carson heard the drive activate with a low hum.

"What is this?" John asked from the back, clearly meaning the drive that sat in the back of the Jumper near him.

Walker stood up and moved to the entrance to the back area. "It's how we're gonna escape this pocket of space, Colonel." Walker's voice rose then to address everyone else in the back. "We're about to leave this region of space through the anomaly, you will all feel a slight pressure over you, but don't panic, it won't last long. Once we're through the anomaly we will take you to a nearby station where we have medical staff that will look after you."

"We're not heading straight to Atlantis?" Teyla asked.

"No, ma'am, we are going to have to keep you in the observatory for a short quarantine before we can take you back to Atlantis. But, don't worry we've got everything you could need at the observatory." Walker informed her.

Carson frowned slightly at that; Teyla had everything besides her son and then Kanaan came to mind and Carson realised that things could get even more complicated for the new family than simply recovering from their ordeal. Carson frowned realising that though he had thought to pack almost everything for the medical area in the observatory it had never occurred to him to arrange anything for a baby. They would have to fashion some sort of crib once they got there. And he would call ahead to Doctor Keller and ask her to fish out Teyla's old baby gear from when Torren was young. The baby gear had come in useful a few times when young children had been brought into the city briefly. He would arrange to have it all brought out of storage again and have it all sterilised, and John and Teyla would need new quarters, though perhaps only one he considered.

A computer next to Carson bleeped pulling him from his mental wandering. Rodney tapped a few buttons. "Okay, we're almost to the exit."

Carson rechecked their position and kept the Jumper moving forward though all he could see was blackness ahead. The darkness suddenly engulfed the ship as the lights dimmed as they had last time. A steady pressure began to build up around Carson and he found he was holding his breath. The pressure increased momentarily and then lifted off abruptly and then there were stars ahead. With a relieved smile he turned to Rodney. "It felt easier this time." He noted, but then from the back Charin began crying, clearly not agreeing with him. Carson turned in his seat as best as he could to look back towards the crying baby.

"What the..?" Rodney asked, only now becoming aware of their extra passenger.

Carson leant further back in his seat now able to see Teyla lifting little Charin up from the sling and pressing her tightly against her shoulder and rocking her. The cries were already dying away and Carson decided to wait to see if they would need him. Rodney suddenly blocked his view as he moved towards the back of the Jumper.

"Where did you get a baby from?" Rodney demanded as he neared Sheppard.

Carson unfortunately couldn't see the Colonel's face, but he could infer some of his expression from the dryness of his reply. "Do you really need me to explain to you about the birds and the bees, Rodney?"

Walker chuckled from behind Carson.

"I know where babies come from." Rodney protested. "Do the parents know you have their baby?" Rodney asked, sounding rather worried.

There was a pause. "Yes, Rodney." John replied with heavy sarcasm and Carson looked round to see Ronon smiling back at him before they both laughed at their friend and at the joy that this rescue had worked out so well.

-----  
TBC


	41. Ronon 3

**Chapter:** 41 - Ronon

-----

"Well how was I supposed to know?!" Rodney protested for the hundredth time. "They could have gotten a baby from loads of places." Ronon looked down at him with a heavy scowl.

"They could have saved it from a dying mother or from a burning hut, I don't know." Rodney added before looking away muttering to himself, only then did Ronon smile at his embarrassed friend.

They had arrived back at the observatory several hours ago now, but Ronon had remained near John and Teyla. They had been taken away to get cleaned up at first and then the nurses had looked them over. Carson had arranged for extra beds to be brought in as he hadn't been expecting to take care of anyone other than Sheppard and Teyla. Those other survivors were now asleep in the next room and were subtly being watched over by a couple of marines as well as by the nurses. Carson himself had been shut away in the surgical area for the last hour or so working on a survivor's stab wound. Ronon turned as he heard the curtain behind him open and Carson finally emerged.

"Everything okay?" Ronon asked him as he approached.

"She'll be fine, though it took a little longer than I expected. She needed more anaesthetic than usual to put her under." He added. The doctor looked tired Ronon thought, but then no one was as tired as their two returned friends.

Ronon turned back to his vigil. Sheppard and Teyla lay in two beds sectioned off with a curtain across the room. The curtain was partly open across from where Ronon sat, so he could watch over his two friends sleeping so deeply he wondered if they had slept in months. Between the close beds a small makeshift crib had been set up in which Charin slept. The crib was fashioned out of a crate and what looked like a piece of mattress, all sitting on top of a sturdy table. At first Sheppard hadn't wanted to sleep, instead had sat up in the bed watching over the baby and Teyla as they both slept. Ronon had moved in then and sat nearby, silently telling his friend that he was here to take over the vigil. Sheppard had fallen asleep a short time later.

"How are they?" Rodney asked quietly.

Ronon turned to look at the doctor as he replied. "Pretty well, considering. They're under nourished, exhausted and rather bruised and battered, but they're okay." Ronon saw the knowing look in the doctor's eyes though.

There was a big difference between being well and being okay. Ronon had seen the lightening quick response of Sheppard when he had thought he was under attack back in the Jumper. Though it had only been Carson it didn't change what Ronon had seen in the Sheppard's eyes; he was on edge and in a slightly wild state. Everyone had given all the survivors more space after that, allowing them to wind down, but Ronon understood what he had seen in Sheppard's eyes.

Ronon had lived life on the edge for many years and it had taken him many long months to relax enough in Atlantis to be able to sit with people around him without thinking an attack could happen at any moment. And Sheppard had Teyla and his new daughter to protect, so it was probably even more intense for him. He would need time. And though Teyla showed the same signs, Ronon knew she would relax quicker than Sheppard. So, Ronon had stayed in the infirmary, watching over Charin and Teyla for Sheppard so he could sleep properly.

"Anyone told Kanaan yet?" Rodney asked.

"Rodney." Carson protested.

"What? It's a valid question."

Ronon considered that for a few minutes; they would have to be careful with Sheppard around Kanaan, he was too unpredictable in this state.

"I think we should take our time with that. They need to rest and we should let them sleep as much as they need." Carson replied and Ronon suspected the doctor understood as Ronon did.

They fell silent, all three watching their friends sleeping across the room.

"How's the kid?" Rodney asked after a long pause.

"I haven't properly examined her, but she seems well enough. I don't want to check her over fully without John and Teyla being awake." Carson replied and Ronon nodded his agreement. He didn't think Sheppard would take too kindly to waking up to find his daughter was missing or being handled by someone without him knowing. Besides Ronon wouldn't let anyone near the baby until they were awake again.

"She's asked about Torren." Carson added. "I told her we would inform her people and Torren that she was alive and well."

Ronon considered how Kanaan would react. Ronon would admit that he felt exceptionally pleased to find out that Teyla had chosen Sheppard during their long stay on that planet. Ronon had been happy for Teyla when she became pregnant with Torren and he had known she had had a close bond with Kanaan, but he had always hoped she would end up with Sheppard. After the announcement of her first pregnancy Ronon had seen the change in Sheppard, which had only confirmed his previous theory about the guy's feelings for Teyla. Ronon was pleased that finally Sheppard had made his move. They would be a good couple. Well suited in Ronon's opinion, for he had always been a little disappointed in Kanaan as Teyla's choice as a mate; he wasn't challenging and dynamic enough for her.

"You going to sit here all day and night?" Carson asked drawing Ronon's attention to him. Ronon smiled and Carson nodded. "Well, I'm going to get something to eat and have a short break. I'll be back in awhile and I'll watch over them for a bit."

Ronon nodded, but he didn't have any intention of leaving until Sheppard woke at least once, then he would know that Ronon had been there and perhaps he could relax again.

Carson clapped Ronon on the arm briefly as he made his way out of the little infirmary. "Rodney, you coming?"

Rodney looked up at Ronon. "I'll go get some lunch too, then I can you know, sit with them for a bit as well." Rodney rambled as he backed away, before he stopped and looked to the curtained area again and Ronon saw the satisfaction in his eyes.

"You did good, McKay." Ronon found himself saying, knowing that would be what Sheppard would say.

Rodney looked up at him and his pleasure was clear to see before he looked back to the curtains. "It was all worth it to have them back." Ronon nodded and Rodney smiled up at him quickly before he turned and headed out after a smiling Carson, only looking back twice to the curtained area as they left.

Ronon turned back to his watch, his eyes falling to the small crib and he smiled; a baby Sheppard.

----  
TBC


	42. Teyla 12

**Chapter:** 42 - Teyla

**Warning:** Fluffiness of major proportions ahead!

-----

Charin's cry woke Teyla abruptly and she struggled to pull herself fully awake. She felt a flash of panic that she couldn't wake up quickly enough. Memories of the burning tents, the fighting and the fear flooded through her until she managed to sit up enough and open her eyes to see the white curtain around her bed. Then she remembered that she was safe, that they had been rescued. Charin's cries echoed again; grumpy, loud and hungry.

Teyla blinked rapidly to clear her eyes, her mind so heavy that she could have fallen right back to sleep. She felt like she had been sleeping for many long hours and it was difficult to pull her mind together to move properly. But, Charin needed her, so she worked herself upright in the bed, a soft comfortable bed and she turned to see John was already up and out of his bed and standing over Charin. He looked as exhausted and sleepy as Teyla felt and she smiled at his hair standing straight up even more than normal.

He reached into the makeshift crib and lifted Charin out, who was now really crying her little heart out. Teyla sat upright in the bed and looked down to the gown she wore. One of the nurses had found one that could be opened at the shoulder, so Teyla could open one side of her gown at a time to feed Charin. One side released she turned to find John by her side and she took Charin from his warm hands. As she took her daughter John leant down and adjusted something to the bed and lifted the head of the bed up for her. She sat back against it whilst John fussed over pillows for her and he brought over one from his bed so she could lay Charin on it. Teyla smiled up at him before she turned her attention to settling Charin to nurse.

John moved away for a few minutes and she heard Ronon's voice outside the curtains and then saw him pass by the opening on his way out, he gave her a little wave and she smiled back. She could still hardly believe they had been rescued, that soon she would be able to return to Atlantis and that she would see Torren again. She prayed he would remember her, but she was also delighted that from his perspective she had only been gone six months, so he wouldn't have grown as much as Teyla had feared. She would see him in a couple of days and she smiled as tears filled her eyes again.

John returned to her side and she looked up to see he had pulled the gap in the curtains closed. He stood beside her bed and smiled down at her rather sleepily. She blinked away her tears, trying to clear her eyes so he wouldn't be worried. But, he had seen them and he reached out and wiped the tracks from her cheeks gently with his thumbs, his hands cupping her face. She closed her eyes at his touch and drank in his presence and the knowledge that they had survived so much together, against all the odds. His lips touched against hers gently and she reached up with her free hand and cupped his closely shaved cheek. As they parted lips she opened her eyes again and looked up at his close green eyes and smiled.

"We made it." He whispered to her as if to reassure her that this was all real.

She nodded and smiled wider as he kissed her cheek and nuzzled her skin briefly. She stroked her hand through his hair as he pulled back and his eyes fell to Charin. Teyla shuffled herself over on the bed creating a small space beside her, she wanted to feel him next to her and let him watch his daughter feed up close. He frowned down at the bed like he was worried it would collapse with his extra weight on it, but he eased his hip onto it and paused. Teyla laughed lightly as he waited with an expectant look to see if the bed would hold and when it didn't shift or creak he moved more of his weight onto it, hitching one thigh up onto the mattress next to hers as he lifted one arm up and over her head to wrap around her shoulders. She shifted up against him and sighed, resting her tired head against him and she looked down at Charin who looked up at them with her curious little eyes as she nursed.

John reached forward with his free hand and Teyla watched his fingers gently stroke Charin's soft head and cheek. Charin paused in her nursing to enjoy his touch and Teyla smiled down at her. They sat in contented silence for awhile both watching Charin as she fed.

"I've thought of a second name for her." John whispered eventually, his voice deep and soft.

Teyla pulled back enough so she could look up at him. "What have you decided?" She asked.

He looked back down to Charin. "I know it's not the most modern name, but how about Violet?"

The grief of their lost friend moved her and that John would choose to honour him this way. She felt her tears building again. "I think it is a wonderful name." She whispered to him.

He met her eyes and he grinned, clearly pleased that she liked the name he had chosen. Teyla would have agreed to anything he would have selected, even Meredith if he had wished it. John looked back down to Charin who had finished feeding and was looking up at them happily, studying them carefully with her infant eyes. Teyla did up her gown, burped Charin quickly and then settled her back on the pillow so Charin could look up at them comfortably.

"Well, Charin Violet Emmagan, welcome to the Pegasus galaxy." John said softly down to their daughter.

Teyla smiled, but there was more to say. "Emmagan Sheppard." She amended.

John's fingers paused briefly where they were stroking Charin's dark hair and Teyla looked up to see his smile. He leant in and kissed her cheek and she felt him inhale deeply against her skin. It was important to her that their daughter have his name as well as hers, for she knew in his culture it held great importance for a man.

The curtains twitched across the small space around the beds and John tensed, his arm tightening around Teyla's shoulders. "May I come in?" Teyla heard Carson ask from the other side of the curtain and the tension eased from John's body.

"Of course, Carson." Teyla called happily.

The curtains parted and Carson stepped through ginning. "I hope everyone is behaving themselves in here." He teased as he turned and closed the curtains up again.

Teyla felt herself blush slightly at the joke, but John's arm tightened around her again. "Of course I am." John replied.

Carson approached them his eyes falling to Charin. "And how is little Charin doing?" He asked as he reached the bedside and leant forward. Teyla tilted Charin round, but the baby was already looking up towards the new voice, staring up at him slightly confused. "She is a cute little thing." Carson commented and Teyla couldn't help the swell of pride in her chest, though she knew Carson would always be polite. But, Charin was ever so beautiful to Teyla, and she felt her heart warm even further.

"This is Uncle Carson, Charin." John said softly in a baby voice. Charin looked back round towards his voice and John caught one of her little hands in his fingers.

"Hello Charin." Carson replied in a baby voice of his own. "Would you like me to check her over now?" He asked Teyla equally as softly.

"She will need her nappy changed anyway." Teyla agreed.

"How about we lay her on this table, if we cover it with a blanket?" Carson asked. Teyla agreed so John and Carson prepared the table whilst Teyla worked to get herself up from the bed, but John intervened.

"You stay in bed. I'll do it." John ordered her gently. "You should rest." He insisted.

Teyla couldn't help smiling at him; after what they had gone through over the last day he was worried about her standing and walking a few feet to change the nappy? But, she agreed handing over Charin to him. He had watched her closely when she had washed Charin before they had entered the infirmary and he had watched her change the nappy closely as well, memorising the techniques so he could copy them and now he took Charin and laid her down on the table and began to unwrap the swaddling. Carson disappeared for a few moments and returned with wipes, a bin and his equipment. Teyla saw John frown down at the doctor's tools, but he turned back to taking off Charin's nappy and cleaning her up. He leant down over her as he did and Teyla watched their daughter staring up at him quite happy to be handled by him.

Before the new nappy was put on Carson moved in to check Charin over. He ran his fingers gently around Charin's head, checked her ears and mouth and down to her neck. He quickly shone his pen light into both of her eyes before moving on down her body, testing her joints gently as he went until finally he pulled out a stethoscope and listened to her chest. John watched nervously over Carson's shoulder, studying everything he did closely. Teyla had seen all of this before with Torren and she understood why there had to be such intense scrutiny of a newborn.

Carson stood upright and turned to John and then Teyla. "I need to take a tiny sample of her blood to test. I'm going to take it from one of her heels. She may cry a little bit, but it will be over nice and quick."

Teyla nodded her consent and Carson turned to the more cautious John, who nodded though he frowned. "She's okay though?" He asked as he stepped closer to Charin, who was wriggling now, growing impatient. John stroked over her head gently to calm her.

"She seems perfectly healthy. I'm going to weigh her and measure her as well so we can track her growth and development. She is slightly smaller than normal, but not seriously so. She seems very well and the blood test is standard practice." He reassured John. Teyla sat up further on the bed to catch John's eye and she nodded to him, trying to make him more at ease.

"I went through all of this with Torren, John, it will be fine." She offered and John nodded stepping back from Carson slightly, but he kept his hand on the table near Charin.

Carson went about measuring Charin's head and testing her reflexes quickly and efficiently before finally reaching down to one of her kicking feet and he took some blood from her heel. As promised Charin did not approve and began crying. John scooped her up once Carson stepped back and out of the curtains to take away the blood sample. John cuddled Charin against his chest and she turned into his warmth, and the cries died away after a minute or so. Carson returned with a flat metallic device. Carson explained it was a weighing machine he had borrowed from the scientists who had been using it during the manufacture of the probes and drive to enter the anomaly. Carson draped a blanket over the metallic plate on the top, adjusted the reading and then nodded for John to put Charin down on it. John laid her carefully onto the scale and withdrew his hands about an inch until Carson took the reading and then she was back in his hands. Teyla couldn't help smiling at his protectiveness. He usually stood back from situations, but here he was right in there watching over his daughter though Teyla knew he trusted Carson completely.

Carson removed the scales and carried them away whilst John laid Charin down on the table again and Teyla oversaw the new nappy being tied around Charin. As with everything he did John did it properly and efficiently and he stood back with a very proud grin as he lifted Charin and the nappy stayed in place. He then carried Charin back over to her and offered their newly wrapped daughter, but Teyla shook her head allowing him to hold onto Charin for awhile longer. She liked seeing him all soft and endearingly careful with their child. She leant in and saw that Charin had calmed and now was looking sleepy again. A small little burp and she fell fast asleep.

Carson re-entered and this time he was carrying a tray of food. "I've brought you some dinner. Try to eat as much as you can. We gave you some basic nutrient shots when you first arrived, but I would like to monitor you both to get you both back in shape nutritionally speaking." He was saying as he set the heavily laden tray down on the table; Teyla hadn't seen so much food in a very long time and that was only on one of the plates. Her mouth began to water immediately, but she returned her attention to Carson.

"Did you get our blood work back yet?" She asked. John reached out and handed her one plate of food, which she settled on the pillow over her lap.

"Aye, you are both low on the basics, but otherwise very well considering." He replied. "Though, Teyla you are slightly anaemic, but that might be because you gave birth today." He said with a smile. "I would like you to take some further supplements and we will monitor you for the next couple of days, but you should be fine. Okay?"

"Okay." Teyla replied. She wanted to ask more; to ask when she would be able to see Torren, but that would wait as Carson had promised that her people would be informed. Once the quarantine was over they could return to Atlantis and she could see her son again. Though, she realised now, she would also have to talk with Kanaan.

She glanced over at John to see him settling Charin into her crib and placing it up on the table again before he picked up his own plate of food. She saw him look over at her plate and she just knew he was making sure she had more than him. She had caught him several times in the camp building up her portions with some of his own and she had been touched but annoyed at him. Now, she looked at him in the bright lights of the infirmary and saw that he needed more weight on him. They both did, but that would be easily achieved, especially with so much food available again. She turned her attention to the full meal on her lap, picked up the utensils and tucked in happily.

-----  
TBC


	43. John 12

**Chapter:** 43 - John

-----

John picked at the remains of his dinner on the plate resting on his lap. The delight in having plenty of food again had dimmed as had his appetite. He was stressing, feeling agitated and the encircling wall of the curtains was not helping. He was getting annoyed with the limiting area, not that he didn't like the privacy it provided for the three of them, but he couldn't see what was going on outside of it. Every scrape of a chair, cough or unidentifiable sound from the other side of the curtain irritated him and had begun to disturb his sleep.

Their two days quarantine was almost up and the two days had flown by as all they had done was sleep and feed Charin. He looked over now to Teyla to see she was still fast asleep. She had slept most of the two days and he was a little worried about her, though Carson had assured him that it was completely normal and was good for her. John didn't appreciate the separate beds either, perhaps that was another factor that was getting on his nerves. He was used to having Teyla right beside him practically all day and all night and even the couple of metres separating them annoyed him. He had spent so long having, needing, to be close to her that the new space wasn't helping him with his growing frustrations at their situation.

Something moved outside the curtains and he quickly looked to the small gap through which he hadn't missed the fact that either Carson or Ronon had been sitting around the clock, as Carson was now. He appreciated their care, their concern, but it still hadn't settled him enough to relax. Tomorrow finally they could return to Atlantis and it couldn't be sooner for John.

He looked back down to his plate and gave up on it, turned and placed it down on the bedside table. Teyla's plate was still covered up, untouched until she woke. She had only fallen asleep a couple of hours ago so she would probably sleep until Charin woke again. John lifted his watch and noted the time and found himself counting how many hours it would be until they could leave the observatory. He sighed and looked up at the curtains again and Carson in the distance working away at the far off table.

He had been given a book and some magazines, but John wasn't interested. Taking time for something like that felt too alien still; for he would have to relax enough to focus and enjoy them. He was far too used to keeping an eye out for what was around him and Teyla. Once they were back in Atlantis and had proper private walls around them maybe he would be able to indulge in such luxuries as reading for pleasure.

Teyla stirred and he looked round as she turned over in her sleep as she often did. He watched her back turn to him, watched her snuggle down into the covers and grow deeply still again. He wanted her against him and he couldn't help feeling a little grumpy about that. He was used to her touch, whether it be the light touch of her fingertips on his arm, or the pressure of her body against his as they slept. He didn't like being by himself.

He sighed and finally admitted to himself that his growing tension was far more complicated than simply his annoyance with being stuck on this observatory, which he didn't exactly have very good memories of in the first place. Ronon and Walker had headed back to Atlantis this afternoon and Ronon would be heading to the Athosian camp tomorrow morning, to bring Torren to Teyla. John was happy that Teyla would be seeing her son again as he had hated seeing her pain over the past months in the loss of her son. It had been a pain he had often seen in her eyes, or from a tension in her body late at night. A few times he had woken to the sound of a quiet tearful sniff from her as she cried in the darkness. It had torn at him to know she was in pain and that there had been nothing he could do for her. He had gotten the impression that she had been purposefully not taking about Torren very much with him, as he might have grown jealous. He didn't feel that way about Torren; it was Kanaan that got him nervous, but then it hadn't been like they had expected to return home anyway. So on those nights he had simply wrapped an arm around her, pulled her tightly up against his body and held her.

Now her prayers were answered; she would see Torren tomorrow morning. John was happy for her, but now there was the issue of Kanaan. John had never really thought about Kanaan back on the planet and he didn't like that he had to now. For now things were different. Back on the planet life, though difficult, had been simpler. He had been assured of Teyla's presence, her love, but now things were more complicated.

Yesterday before he left Colonel Walker had dropped by to tell John that the IOA was still considering a second trip into the pocket to retrieve survivors and that he would ensure that all of John and Teyla's things were brought out of storage and would be ready for them back in the city. He had also said he would put a request in for them to be assigned new quarters. John hadn't missed the subtle question to the word; did they want a room together, or separate quarters? John had pretended he hadn't heard the implied question and had just thanked Walker and changed the subject, but it had continued to play on his mind. As did the approaching reunion between Teyla and her former lover.

She said she loved John and he believed her; Teyla wouldn't lie to him like that. But, he couldn't help imagining her reunion with Kanaan and their son. Kanaan had been her friend since childhood and he had been her lover up until she had been lost into the anomaly. Before that had she been whispering to Kanaan that she loved him like she said to John? What if when she saw Kanaan again and held their son she began to remember what she had loved about him? What if she changed her mind about being with John? It was an upsetting and disturbing thought.

He looked over to her turned back again. He knew she had avoided talking about Kanaan with him, and before he had appreciated it, preferring to ignore him completely, but now that wasn't possible. Was she not talking about Kanaan now because she was conflicted?

A strange battle warred away inside John. A part of him wanted to get back to Atlantis and shut himself away alone for awhile. If she was going to change her mind he would rather she made that decision quickly and he would force himself to move on. He couldn't ignore that Kanaan had a child with her, just as John did, and that the two of them had been friends for a hell of a lot longer than John had even known Teyla. Or what if she stayed with John, but she regretted that choice? He felt the need to pull away from her, let her make her choice, and perhaps it was to protect him self in case that happened.

But, another part of him only grew angry at all that; the part of him that had fought beside her, for her, over the last year. The part of him that wanted her warmth against him again now. That part of him felt nothing but aggression towards Kanaan and made him want to move to Teyla's side now and touch her, hold her to him to impact his presence on her. She had chosen him and she was his.

He was a little taken back by this side of him. He hadn't had to fight for a woman before, not seriously like this. Though, on the planet he had protected her, this was different. This was a life back full of the delicate intricacies of relationships and polite behaviour that kind of irritated him. He had held back from all that before. He had been quite happy to be alone, to be solitary. Sure, he had some run ins with some women he fancied when he chose, but he had kept himself subtly isolated. But, Teyla had gotten in and now he was really invested. And at that the first part of him rebelled, worried and nervous at that revelation, whilst the other newer part celebrated in it.

Charin moved slightly in the crib and John leant forward. It was too early for her to be hungry again, so maybe she needed a change or something. She wriggled again under her blanket and John dropped all of his wandering tense thoughts. He couldn't see her face from where he sat, so he lifted his blanket and stood up from the bed, the infirmary floor cold under his bare feet. He moved closer to the crib and Charin looked up at him, her eyes open and appearing happy enough. He smiled down at his daughter. She was a very real confirmation of Teyla's love for him. Or had she been the result of circumstances as their relationship had been? He shook his head at the awful thought and reached into the crib needing to hold his daughter suddenly.

She wriggled in his hands as he lifted her, but she didn't complain or even appear to be about to start crying. He settled her small weight into his arms, marvelling once again at how small and perfect she was. And she was his.

He moved back to his bed and settled down again with one pillow over his lap onto which he laid Charin gently. She looked up at him from the pillow apparently happy. He settled his blanket around him, annoyed at the coolness of the air compared to what they had been used on the planet. He sat and looked down at Charin for a long while, simply looking at her. He caught one of her hands in his fingers and looked at the minute fingernails; all perfect and correct.

He realised then that even if things changed with Teyla, if she changed her mind or whatever, Charin would forever be his daughter. He had something real; something that was his and she was looking up at him now totally capturing his heart. A tiny little smile caught her lips as she stared up at him, her eyes wide. He smiled back and leant down over her, drawing up his knees to lift the pillow to bring her closer. He touched his nose against her super soft cheek and he pressed a kiss to her warm skin. She made a happy gurgling noise and he pulled back to look down at her. An ache blossomed in his chest; he had so fought to be alone, after all the things that had happened to him, after all he had done, but now things had changed. He had a child and he had a responsibility to her. He had to protect her, teach her and love her as much as he could.

Charin smiled again and kicked her legs within her blankets and waved her arms rather uncoordinatedly and John laughed lightly at her, recapturing one of her hands in his. Her fingers tightened around his finger, her grip surprisingly firm and he smiled at the strength of her, despite how small she was. He knew she would be strong like her mother and perhaps she would inherit some of his better qualities. Perhaps she would become a pilot, though suddenly he thought that that would be too dangerous for her. She should be a chef or musician or something. What was he thinking? She was Teyla's daughter; Charin would probably be kicking Ronon's butt before she even began school. School! Okay he was thinking too far ahead. First he had to focus on today and tomorrow.

He looked over at Teyla again and took a breath. He wouldn't lose her, he would do all he could to keep her, to keep his new family together. If she was going to leave him then it wouldn't be because he didn't try. He had walked away from a lot in his life; walked away from his father, from the family business, from Nancy and had almost walked away from the Airforce. But, he wasn't going to this time. Perhaps it was the experiences over the last year, but the feelings he had for Teyla were too strong and the idea of losing her was far more frightening than what she might expect of him or the chance of a painful rejection.

He looked back down at Charin to see she was growing sleepy again and he sat engrossed as he watched her fall asleep. He had never understood the interest in babies, though they could be cute when they weren't crying. But, now as he looked down at his own daughter he understood what it was all about; he truly loved this little being. He felt a chill at remembering how close to danger she had been back on that planet, but he pushed all those thoughts out of his head, forcing his body to relax again; they were free now, she was safe. And he would keep her that way.

She was fast asleep now and John was feeling sleepy watching her, so he carefully stood up again and returned her to the crib. She settled happily and he tucked her blanket up around her again, making sure there weren't any gaps where a stray draft could get in. Happy, he was about to return to the bed, when he realised his bladder was really starting to protest. He hated leaving the curtained area leaving his girls when they were asleep, but he needed to leave now.

With one last look over at Teyla to see she was comfortably still asleep he moved to the gap in the curtains. As he stepped out he looked over towards the table, only to find that it wasn't Carson there anymore, but Rodney. He was sitting with his laptop on the table and a tablet on his lap, tapping away. He looked up when he saw John move and a small rather self conscious smile touched his face. John felt strangely touched to see Rodney there, though Ronon and Walker had both implied quite clearly that Rodney had been the main driving force behind the rescue mission. And John knew Rodney; he never gave up on something if he was invested. But, almost six months of over working to save them was a long time. A thick feeling of emotion filled John's throat, so he nodded to Rodney and headed off towards the washroom quickly so he could get away and pull himself together.

He answered the call of nature and after washing his hands in the strange alien sink, he lifted the small mirror someone had left in there. His hair was a mess, though he looked a lot less scruffy than he had yesterday. He had to wonder what Teyla had seen in him, for he must have looked much worse back on the planet. His mind strayed back to the subject of Kanaan again; did she prefer Kanaan's looks to his? Huffing at himself, at the growing aggression towards Kanaan again, and at the fact that his hair was refusing to be squashed down he gave up. He headed back into the infirmary to see Rodney look up from his work to look across the room to check on Teyla and Charin. John smiled at his friend's protectiveness and he realised he hadn't been so nervous leaving Teyla and Charin; he trusted Rodney. It was a truly frightening thought he mused as he padded his way over to the table.

Rodney looked up at him with a strangely hopeful look and John suddenly felt sorry for making Rodney feel bad about not realising who Charin was. He was really happy to see Rodney again. He reached the table and paused, rocked on his heels for a second and buried his hands in the shallow pockets of the medical trousers he wore.

"What you working on?" He asked.

Rodney's face morphed into a smile and John wondered if Rodney had thought he had still been mad over the Charin issue.

"I've been going over all our readings for the pocket you were trapped in." Rodney replied as he pointed at the jumble of information on the laptop in front of him.

John nodded and moved to sit in the chair opposite him, pausing only to re-angle it so he could easily see Teyla and Charin through the gap in the curtains. He turned back to Rodney to see the light in his friend's face. John cleared his throat feeling a little embarrassed again.

"So, find out anything interesting?" He asked.

"Yes, actually. Lots. But, the most interesting in the temporal differential. It appears to be increasing."

"You mean time is speeding up in there?" John asked a little confused.

"Yes, it appears the pocket is highly unstable. I suspect that had you guys stayed in there for longer then the difference would have increased further. The pirate who came to us with the drive gave us his readings from at least a year ago our time and I've been comparing them to the readings of the pocket I took when we rescued you." Rodney babbled.

John nodded, trying desperately to push the image of a space faring Captain Jack Sparrow out of his head. "So, from your perspective we've really only been gone six months?" He asked. He knew they had told him that before, but it was still so strange to come to terms with, though this wasn't like it was the first time for him.

"Yes, but from my readings you two have experienced at least eighteen months in there."

John looked back to the curtained area and did a little bit of maths in his head. Teyla had been pregnant for a full nine months presumably and they had been in the camp before that for at least two months before that. The group who had originally pulled them out of the crashed observatory section had cared for them for perhaps a few weeks, but that still left six to seven months through which he and Teyla had wandered alone across that planet before they had found the camp. It had felt like an unbelievably long time, but it was odd to realise just how long it had been. And again he was amazed and proud of them at having survived it. She couldn't have experienced anything like that with Kanaan.

"I've also been studying the observatory's sensors, seeing if I can work out how many ships were pulled through from this area of space." Rodney added interrupting John's thoughts.

He turned back to him. "It opens to other areas of space?"

"Yes, perhaps to several other galaxies."

John nodded; that would explain the variety of people and technologies he had seen in the pocket. "I heard the IOA were a little reluctant to send you guys in to save us." He asked.

Rodney looked down at the laptop. "It took longer than expected to engineer a new drive like the pirate's, which had burnt out. In fact we think his had probably been designed by an Ancient, perhaps one who had become trapped in the pocket themselves." Rodney began to babble.

John nodded. "Well, thanks for all you did." He hoped he had put enough emphasis on the words so that Rodney would understand that he knew how much work Rodney had done, how much of his life he had spent these past six months working to save them. Rodney smiled and looked away again.

"Well, considering it was my fault…" Rodney muttered.

"What?" John frowned at him.

"Back on the observatory before you guys were pulled into the anomaly; if I had gotten the observatory's computer working faster the section you two had been in wouldn't have been ejected into the anomaly."

John was shocked to realise that Rodney had been blaming himself all this time. "Rodney, the computer had crashed and was completely alien to us. You did the best you could. The whole place was falling apart and losing atmosphere and clearly you did get it working again. It wasn't your fault." John stated clearly. He knew what guilt was like to carry and there was no reason why Rodney should be shouldering this.

He waited for Rodney to meet his eyes and Rodney nodded a little and they both looked away, silence falling between them. John looked off to the curtains again. The urge to run from this kind of talk was strong, but he wouldn't; he would stay here and talk with his friend.

"Because of you, Teyla and I are safe and my daughter has a future." His voice caught at the end of that sentence and he looked away again, pushing down the rising emotion and cleared his throat. He focused his eyes on the crib across the room; Charin was alive and safe. He tightened one of his fists on his lap as he made himself relax; Charin was here, Teyla was here and they had a future.

After a few long minutes he relaxed enough and the embarrassment had faded enough for him to look at Rodney again, who met his gaze for a second and smiled before looking away himself. They lapsed into silence again.

"So, a daughter huh?" Rodney asked eventually.

John smiled and nodded.

"And you and Teyla?" Rodney asked as he pulled a shocked expression.

John tried not to smile or laugh at that, but he couldn't help the light chuckle that broke through as he nodded again. "You still with Keller?" John asked.

"Actually yes, though I haven't been the best boyfriend what with working all the time." He wound down the end of his sentence realising what he was admitting.

John just nodded. "Well, I'll put in a good word for you." He offered.

"Thanks." Rodney replied.

Across the room John heard Teyla cough sleepily and he looked round to see her reaching for the half full jug of water on the bedside table. He turned back to Rodney.

"I'll speak to you later." John said as he got up, but he paused as he stood over his friend. "Thanks, Rodney." He said again and had to move away quickly before he embarrassed himself any further, but he caught the little shining smile on Rodney's face as he passed.

John entered the curtained area to see that Teyla was sitting up and sipping from a glass of water. He paused by the crib and saw that Charin was still asleep so he moved on towards Teyla. She had lifted the head of her bed up and had settled back against it. John studied her face as he came to a rest beside her; her colour was much better and she looked all soft and contented from her sleep. The urge to have her against him surged through him and he moved closer, hitching a hip up onto her bed, so his hip touched hers. She set the glass aside and smiled up at him and he leant in to her and captured her lips with his. She didn't hesitate in her kiss, in fact she leant up further against him to increase the pressure. He felt a flush of satisfaction at her clear desire for him and he felt his body respond. He pulled back at that; it would be weeks until he could make love to her again. But, that aside he needed her to be sleeping beside him at night, he needed to be touching her again. He slid his hand over her bare arm as he sat back, her skin soft under his touch.

She made a happy little noise as she settled back against the bed. "You okay?" He asked.

She nodded and he thought her eyes looked clearer than they had before; she was recovering as Carson had promised.

"Are you?" She asked.

He tried to school his features as he answered her. "Sure. Looking forward to getting back to Atlantis." He told her as he ran his hand down her arm once more before he reached across her lap to take hold of her hand. She held his fingers tightly; no sign of reluctance there.

"I am as well." She replied and he got the impression she was building up to something and he could already guess was the subject was going to be.

"Ronon came by while you were asleep. He's headed back to the city with Walker, and he'll bring Torren to meet you tomorrow morning." He told her.

The light in her eyes increased and she smiled, clearly excited to see her son. Her hand tightened around his again. "And Kanaan will be there." She said carefully.

John decided he didn't even like her saying his name, but squashed that reaction. "I know." He replied, trying to keep a poker face.

She smiled up at him slightly and he guessed he had been unsuccessful. "I will explain to him that things have changed for me."

John nodded. Would things change between them like that? Would she still think the same once she saw Kanaan with Torren?

"John?" She said with a slightly stern tone, drawing his full attention to her. "You do not need to be concerned about tomorrow, it will be fine." He nodded. He trusted her when she said that, but he didn't trust Kanaan.

John couldn't really relax until it was all over and she was sleeping next to him again. But, what if she wanted separate quarters again? What if she wanted some space for her and her children? He couldn't stand the thought of not being around her and Charin all the time whenever he wanted. He looked up from their entwined hands and nodded; he didn't need to worry her with his insecurities. Tomorrow was about her meeting Torren again, but John would certainly keep an eye on it all, especially on Kanaan.

He leant forward to her again and she leant in and met his kiss. He pulled his hand from hers and cupped the back of her neck, tilting her head back and he kissed her deeper. He pushed his tongue past the warm fullness of her lips to taste her mouth. She murmured and pressed herself closer to him, her hands sliding around his shoulders. He re-angled his head, sliding even deeper into her warmth, claiming the kiss he had wanted from her for days. He didn't care that the gap in the curtains was still open behind them or that this kiss couldn't progress to anything else. He just wanted to feel her respond to him as she always had before and she did. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her hands tight on the back of his top and in his hair. He absorbed her smell and the feel of her against him once again, her lips sliding over his, her responding kiss as deep as his. He slid his free hand round her back, under her gown to feel her skin again and he pulled her even tighter against him.

-----  
TBC


	44. Kanaan 2

**Chapter:** 44 - Kanaan

**Note:** So unfortunately my holiday is over, so the chapters will be put up a little slower from now on, as life and work have intruded once again.

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The late afternoon rain was falling over the camp, but it was light enough to still work and Kanaan still had enough energy to work out of his body. He hefted up the last solid panel of wood, all carved and ready for the irrigation channel. He settled the weight on one shoulder and slowly made his way back down the track he had been following back and forth all day. The track sloped gently down away from the camp, down across the newly planted fields to the edge of the flowing river that encircled their new land.

He reached the base of the slope and adjusted the wood's weight on his shoulder as he set off through the field towards the river. The rain was damp over his face and had long since soaked through his jacket, but he didn't care. The approaching summer's warmth made the water bearable and besides he needed the exercise.

The news of Teyla's return had reached them two days ago and he knew soon Ronon or someone else from the city of the Ancestors would arrive to invite him and Torren to see her again. Kanaan was confused in how he felt about the news. He was absolutely delighted that she was well and safe again, but there had been something in the way the doctor had told him the news over the radio. And in his gut he knew that something had changed.

He knew he had been trying not to think of the reunion to come, but his mind continued to return to the subject of Teyla. He prayed that her return would herald a new change for their son, for Torren needed her. Kanaan had done all he could for his son, but there were certain things he couldn't do and he hadn't been able to fulfil the missing piece of Torren's life that was his mother. But, she had returned and Kanaan had to have faith that his son would once again have the light of joy in his eyes.

But, what of him? Kanaan had expected that Teyla's return would please him and excite him, yet he felt nothing but worry. For all these months in which he had known she had been lost with Colonel Sheppard he had feared and now those fears were close to being confirmed or denied. He wasn't sure if a denial would be the more pleasing result. He was confused over these thoughts. For the ten months he had lived with Teyla in the city of the Ancestors he had believed she honoured him and had never regretted their son's existence. Yet, Kanaan had seen the connection she had with her team mates, with those from Earth. A connection he didn't feel with her. She was a warrior and was destined to achieve great things, where he had always wanted to simply be a farmer. These months living back with his people had clarified that profoundly for him.

Which had left him with the thought that even if she had not changed her affections as he feared would he still want to return to her side like before? He had loved Teyla Emmagan for a long time, but it had been a love born from a young man and his first crush and though he had enjoyed their relationship now they were older, he had come to realise that perhaps they were not as suited as he had always wanted them to be.

She was meant to be in that glorious city of the Ancestors, fighting alongside those people from Earth whilst he felt happier here with their people. Days like this where he could use his hands to build and construct nourished him deeply and as he neared the river before him he hated the thought of giving it up again. But, if she loved him and wanted him in the city he would. But, would she still want that?

He had seen the shimmer to Colonel Sheppard's eyes around Teyla. Had seen the sparkle of interest and the even more telling way he had avoided Kanaan almost entirely. It had not bothered Kanaan at first, for he trusted Teyla. But, there had been one day when he had gone looking for her to find her in the mess hall sitting with the Colonel. She had been laughing and the Colonel had been smiling brightly unlike Kanaan had seen him before and it had given Kanaan pause. He knew Teyla had never betrayed him, but as he had looked at the two of them, he could see the potential, the nervous delight they took in each other and he had realised that she returned the Colonel's interest.

Now, he had learnt that the two of them had survived together on a dangerous alien planet for over a year together. If Teyla had thought she would never return from that place, why wouldn't she have felt free to pursue a man she was clearly attracted to? Or had it been the Colonel? Had he waited even a day before he had begun to seduce her with his good looks and casual manner?

Kanaan reached the river bank and with a swell of satisfaction the last irrigation channel came into view. He lowered the last panel from his shoulder and adjusted it into the correct place and pushed it down into its place lining the last channel. The fit was perfect, as he had taken great pains to make sure everything was measured correctly. At least in that way he had some control over his life. He crouched down in the thin mud and hammered nails into the panel connecting it to its neighbours securely and finally with a happy sigh he stood up and looked down at the completed channel with satisfaction.

He wiped his hands on his thick leather trousers and stood back regarding the line of channels that ran off the main river. He would hate to give up this kind of work, but could he easily give up Teyla? He had always suspected he had greater feelings for her than she did for him, but their child had bound them together. Now, apart for so long, he had begun to see that perhaps things had changed for him as they might have for her. Or what if they had not changed for her? He wondered if she would be willing to leave the city and return to live with him among their people. He had the depressing knowing that there was nothing that could do that. Teyla was a part of that city and he suspected that she would never truly return from there even if she did leave it.

Kerra floated into his mind then. She was back in his tent now having volunteered to babysit Torren for him whilst he finished his work. She had been a good friend and there was something warm and comforting about her presence that he had indulged himself in enjoying. He knew that there was attraction there between them, but he had never pursued it, for he knew that he was still bound to Teyla, at least until he knew otherwise.

Movement from the track drew his eye and he turned to see at the top of the slope a figure moving down the track towards him. Kanaan moved from the thick shade of the tree overhanging the channel and recognised the familiar shape of Ronon approaching. So, it was finally time.

A part of him rejoiced; it was time to go to Teyla and finally he would have answers to his questions. Yet another part of him grew steadily nervous; how would she be? How would she greet him?

He reached down and retrieved his tools and with one last look at his completed channel he moved up the track to meet Ronon and from there; his future.

----  
TBC


	45. Teyla 13

**Chapter:** 45 - Teyla

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It was with growing expectation and excitement that Teyla settled herself on the bench in the back of the Jumper. John placed their two bags down by her feet and settled down next to her. She adjusted Charin in her arms and looked round to watch the last few survivors who had not been taken in the first Jumper take their seats as well. Teyla had noticed that though they were still rather agitated, they were clearly more comfortable with the Atlantis personnel who were all patient and calm around them.

Once everyone was inside the hatch was closed and Teyla turned her gaze forward to watch Carson grasp the flight controls and she felt the vague sensation of movement around her. She leant forward slightly so she could look out the front and she watched the observatory bay slide away from view and stars filled the blackness ahead. The Gate was in orbit of a local planet and would take only a few minutes to reach. She sat back and looked round at John. He had been looking forward as well and returned her smile before looking down to Charin in her arms. Teyla hadn't wanted to use the sling to carry Charin, for she liked to feel her child's weight in her arms.

She settled back in the seat and tried to calm herself. She had been practising what she would say to Kanaan for the last couple of days, but she had no idea how the reunion with Torren would go. Would he remember her? He had been so young still when she had left. He was still young. She felt intensely nervous and at the same time excited and emotional. She could already feel the tears ready in her eyes, but she held them back.

Carson had explained that he wanted all the survivors to be checked over with the Ancient medical scanner, so they would go straight to the infirmary. He had also said that Jennifer had set aside a private room in which Teyla could be reunited with Torren and Kanaan. Teyla also knew that he had been quietly suggesting that John and Charin not be present, but Teyla was conflicted on that issue. She did not want to overwhelm Torren or Kanaan and she didn't feel it would be fair to Kanaan for John to be standing by her side possessively. Yet, she did not like the idea of hiding John, or their child. She would not feel ashamed by her choices, but she was worried about how Kanaan would take the news. And of course she was nervous for John, who was clearly anxious about the reunion though he tried to hide it.

"Dialling the Gate." A voice from the front announced and she heard the familiar sound of the DHD being activated and she leant forward again to see the blue shimmer of the wormhole ahead. "Sending IDC." The voice said again and Teyla held her breath for a moment. "Confirmation received."

Carson turned his head looking back at her for a moment and he smiled before he turned to the front once again and she watched the puddle grow larger which was followed by the bizarre sensation of the wormhole and then suddenly the wonderfully familiar colours of the Gate room appeared.

Charin wriggled in Teyla's arms and she looked down to see her daughter was frowning intently.

"Hey, Charin; your first trip through a Stargate." John whispered down to Charin and Teyla shared a smile with him before she turned back to the front to see they had risen up into the Jumper bay. She smiled again, the excitement growing and then she felt a very subtle pressure against her mind. She tilted her head reaching out towards it, nervous for a moment.

"What is it?" John asked as his fingers touched against her arm.

She focused her mind for a moment gently reaching out to the sensation and abruptly she recognised the soft familiar presence, so different from the cold cruel mind of a Wraith. It was Torren.

"Torren, is here." She whispered in surprise and delight. "I can feel him." It was a subtle gentle presence, but it was there. She wondered if it had always been there and only her long absence from her son allowed her to realise its presence. Or had this grown stronger as he had grown?

"You can sense him?" John asked quietly.

She looked round to him. "Just his presence, like a light touch on the edge of my mind." And in her heart. Tears were already forming in her eyes and she took a breath to centre herself again. She felt John's eyes studying her, worrying about her, so she smiled back at him and reached out with her free hand and caught his hand in hers.

There was a slight bump as the Jumper settled.

"Well, everybody, welcome back to Atlantis." Carson announced from the front.

Teyla watched as a marine activated the back hatch and as it began to lower Teyla stood eagerly. John picked up their bags, looping them around his shoulders and stood beside her as they watched the Jumper bay be slowly revealed through the lowering hatch. And as it lowered, a group of nurses appeared and at their centre stood Jennifer.

The hatch touched the floor and the two marines set about helping the other survivors out, handing them over to the waiting nurses who came forward to meet them. John nudged her ahead of him and so Teyla passed him and headed down the hatch towards Jennifer.

"Teyla." Jennifer greeted her with a large smile, stepping forward and opening her arms. Teyla was deeply touched by the honest joy in her friend and colleague's face and she returned the hug with her free arm warmly.

"It is good to see you Jennifer." She said as she pulled back.

"We're all so happy you're both okay." Jennifer replied looking over Teyla's shoulder towards John and back. Then her eyes dropped down to Charin in Teyla's arms. "And congratulations." Teyla turned her body so Jennifer could see Charin's face.

"Oh, Teyla, she is so beautiful." Jennifer said with a rather tearful smile.

"Thank you." Teyla replied. "Torren is here."

"Yes. They got here about half an hour ago. They've had some food and are settled in the infirmary waiting for you." Teyla didn't miss the slight assessing look Jennifer cast towards John.

"Thank you." Teyla repeated drawing Jennifer's attention back to her. "We can join them now?" She asked with great anticipation. She would see Torren in only a few minutes.

"Of course. We'll sort out your scans and such afterwards, okay?" She turned inviting them to follow her to the infirmary.

The three of them proceeded across the bay floor and down the corridor beyond, and John's hand never left Teyla's back the entire way.

"We got Charin's blood work back." Jennifer said conversationally. "She is fine, though we were excited to see that she has both your Wraith gene and the Colonel's Ancient gene."

"What could that mean?" Teyla asked.

Jennifer shrugged. "We have no idea, but she might be the first person ever to have both, we don't know. It doesn't mean anything medically speaking, but it will be fascinating to see if she develops your Wraith sense and how strong her Ancient gene will be considering how strong yours is Colonel." John made a responding sound that could have meant anything, and Teyla knew that his mind was focused on one issue only; the reunion.

They reached the stairs and began to descend the few flights to the infirmary level. John stayed behind her having had to take his hand from her back. Teyla could feel his tension, though she was finding it increasingly difficult to focus on anything other than the fact that her heart was beating fast in her chest and that she could still feel Torren's presence. Charin began to wriggle in her arms, perhaps responding to Teyla's growing excitement and nervousness.

They reached the infirmary level and ahead Teyla noticed the last of the survivors filing into through the infirmary doorway. Jennifer paused and Teyla turned to her.

"They are in the first room off the infirmary. Ronon is in with them keeping them company, but if you want to be alone…"

Teyla nodded. It was time to make some decisions. She turned to John. "Can you take Charin?" She asked. John nodded and took their daughter from her arms, leaving them cold in her absence.

"I have Torren's old crib set up in the infirmary if you would like to settle her there." Jennifer suggested.

Teyla nodded and turned back to John. His eyes lifted from arranging Charin and he met her gaze.

"I would like to talk to Kanaan alone, but if you want to stay by the doorway then that will be fine." She offered him.

He studied her for a minute. "I'll put Charin in the crib and be just outside." He replied. She could see his caution in his eyes and in the tense way he held his jaw. She reached up and kissed him quickly and gently, aware that there were plenty of people around. She stood back and rested her hand on his arm for a minute; she wanted him to be calm, not to worry and not to do anything rash. How much of her request he understood she wasn't sure, but he nodded.

She turned back to Jennifer. "I am ready."

They entered the infirmary and Teyla stepped to the left, towards the doorway which led to the room in which Kanaan and Torren were waiting for her. She paused and watched John pass her moving towards the crib that stood not too far from the doorway. He looked back at her and she smiled reassuringly once more to him before she took a breath and headed into the private room.

She stepped through the doorway into the strangely circular room. Kanaan was sitting on a chair at the far end and Ronon was seated opposite him and between them standing on his own two feet and staring up at her was Torren.

She froze still at the sight of her son; so much older and standing looking up at her with such familiar yet changed eyes. He was staring up at her as she had walked in and he moved straight towards her, his little eyes bright like he really did recognise her. Tears filled her eyes and she couldn't get any words past her throat.

Torren paused a metre away from her and she dropped down into a crouch, tears rolling down her cheeks. He stood looking at her, his eyes showing that he was cautious but there was recognition there.

"Torren." She called to him, though her voice wavered with emotion.

He rocked forward a little, but he still didn't move forward. She stretched out her arms to him, fearing that he didn't really understand who she was. He had been so young when she had left.

"Torren." She called to him again and this time he clearly recognised her voice. He moved forward cautiously towards her, his little eyes studying her intently. She edged towards him, reaching out with her hands and with her mind, reaching out to touch him.

He smiled a tiny little smile and then he was in her hands and she pulled him against her. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly to her, aware that tears were flooding down her face. He rested his head against her shoulder and his little arms slid around her neck holding her in return and she couldn't hold back the sob that tore from her throat.

"Torren, I am so sorry I left you." She whispered to him over and over as she rocked him and just let the tears flow.

She tucked her nose into his small shoulder and drew in his smell, so familiar and the deep ache and pain that had been a part of her for so long finally melted away and she could do nothing but clutch her son to her and cry.

Finally the tears seemed to run out and she pulled back enough to actually look down at him in her arms. He resisted being pulled away from her though, so she settled her cheek on the top of his head and continued to rock him as she rubbed his back. She was aware she was talking to him; telling him she was sorry, that she would never leave him again and that she loved him so much.

A hand appeared in her watery limited view and in it were a large handful of tissues. She reached for them and finally looked up and round through her wet eyes to see it was Jennifer who offered the tissues and that her own eyes were red and tear filled. Teyla smiled up at her and thanked her as best as she could around her tight vocal cords. She also saw that behind Jennifer John stood watching her his eyes worried. She smiled up at them both and placed the pile of tissues down on the floor and pulled a couple free so she could wipe her face.

That done she lifted her gaze and looked up into the room to see Kanaan was standing looking down at her with tears in his own eyes. She wrapped her arms under Torren and lifted him up as she stood, noticing how much heavier he was and how strongly built he felt.

Kanaan stepped towards her and opened his arms. She stepped into his embrace and as they hugged she drew in the smell of Athosian spices and wood smoke from his jacket. The tears rose again as she realised she really would see her people again. Kanaan squeezed her tightly to him around their son and she closed her eyes for a moment before she pulled back and looked up at her old friend happily.

"It is good to see you." She managed to say around her tight throat.

Kanaan smiled at her. "More so for us to see you alive and well, Teyla. All our people were overjoyed to hear that you have been returned to us and they all send you their regards. And Halling especially wishes to visit you, perhaps tomorrow."

Teyla smiled brightly. "I would love that." She couldn't wait to see her old friend again and enjoy his all encompassing great hugs. And he would love to see Charin. That thought brought her back to where she was and what was happening. She took a steadying breath and wiped at her face with a fresh tissue.

Kanaan touched her arm. "Come and sit down, Teyla. You have been through so much."

Teyla followed his invitation and saw that Ronon had vacated the chair for her and as he moved away he gave her a wide soft smile which she returned. She settled herself down onto the chair and readjusted Torren in her arms. He released his hold on her enough to settle on her lap, and then he rested his head back against her and tears began to fill her eyes again as she stroked his hair.

"Thank you for taking care of him, Kanaan." She whispered as she rested her cheek against her son's head once again.

Kanaan looked down at Torren in her arms. "He has been missing you greatly, Teyla." He whispered back.

She frowned slightly at that, knowing that there was more behind Kanaan's tone. "He is well, though?" She was sure someone would have told her if Torren was sick.

Kanaan reached across the small distance between their chairs and rubbed Torren's back. "He is very well, though he has been rather withdrawn. He has been quiet, unwilling to learn to talk." He told her honestly.

She lifted her cheek from Torren and looked down at him. Her boy looked back up at her and smiled before settling back against her.

"He needs only encouragement and I am sure your presence again will be all he needs." Kanaan reassured her. She nodded; she would do all she could for her son of course. He would be fine. She nodded and looked up at Kanaan.

He met her eyes and smiled. "It is very good to see you, Teyla." He said with a soft smile.

"And you, Kanaan. You have been well?" She asked, aware of a sense of distance between them already. Or was that simply how they had always felt? She knew that she felt more aware and closer to John than she had other men before; perhaps this was how it had always been with Kanaan and she had simply forgotten. Or perhaps things had changed for him as well.

"Yes. I took Torren with me to live with our people in the new camp." Kanaan told her. She nodded; she had not expected him to have remained in Atlantis.

There was a pause as they looked at each other and Teyla thought she heard some movement from the entrance to the room, but she didn't look round. Kanaan deserved her full attention for this.

"Doctor Keller said that you are recovering well from your ordeal." Kanaan said.

"Yes, though it has been a very long ordeal." She started.

She was saved from the explanation. "Doctor McKay has already explained to us that where you were trapped time moved at a greater speed. That for you over a year has passed?"

"Yes, a year and a half. We had no idea that rescue was even on its way." She told him.

He nodded and he glanced away from her for a moment back towards the entrance. Teyla followed his gaze to see that John stood just outside the entrance, hovering. And she also noticed that just behind him Ronon was standing guard.

Kanaan turned back to her. "You two have survived much." He said, his expression rather unreadable.

"Yes we did." She replied and she had the sudden impression that Kanaan already knew that something had changed between her and John.

"Much has perhaps changed for you." He added.

Teyla nodded. "Yes." She looked at Kanaan noting the new changes to his face and the lines of worry that she could not remember being there before. "I am sure things have changed for you as well." She added as she continued to rub one hand over Torren's back, who was still and relaxed against her as he idly played with the zipper on her jacket.

Kanaan looked down at Torren and then back up to her eyes. "Perhaps."

He sighed and he reached for her free hand; the touch so familiar from the past, yet now so very different. Though the intensity of affection she had felt for him had changed, their many years of friendship and connection had not. She tightened her hand around his where he held her hand gently in his larger warm and calloused hand. Teyla was aware of some movement from the entrance again, but she kept her gaze on Kanaan waiting to hear what he wanted to say.

"I understand that more time has passed for you." He said carefully. "And that your life has been very different and that…perhaps your affections may have changed." She did not try to hide her surprise from him at his words and his insight. Kanaan smiled rather sadly. "You did not think I was aware of the affection between you two before you left?"

She was shocked to hear that he had seen that and that she might have made him uncomfortable before. She squeezed his hand. "Kanaan. Nothing ever happened before between us." She assured him.

He nodded quickly. "I know that." He replied and his eyes turned back to the entrance and Teyla thought his gaze darkened briefly before he looked back at her. He gently squeezed her fingers and then released her hand. "But, I also know I was never your first choice." He whispered quietly.

Teyla reached for his hand again. "Kanaan, you have always been very important to me and you will always be." She told him and he nodded. "But, things have changed and perhaps more than you may realise." She told him carefully.

"There is more to tell?" He asked though he smiled slightly.

"I have another child as well now." She told him.

Kanaan's eyebrows rose in shock. "A child?"

"Yes." She smiled unable to dim her delight in her new daughter. "She was only born a few days ago."

"A girl?" Kanaan asked, his expression a strange mixture of happiness and something more painful.

Teyla nodded. "Yes, I have named her Charin."

Kanaan smiled sadly. "Charin would have been moved by such an honour to have a child of yours named after her."

Tears rose into Teyla's eyes again at the memory of the lost Charin. Being at Charin's side when she had left to meet the Ancestors had been a most powerful and humbling moment and it still moved her to this day to think of it. "Thank you." She whispered to Kanaan. "I understand if you do not wish to meet young Charin yet."

Kanaan frowned as he squeezed her hand and released her fingers once again. "I would be honoured to meet her."

Teyla smiled at him. "Thank you." She said softly; for his words and for the way in which he had taken the news. "Shall I bring her in?" She asked, testing if this was too early for him, though she deeply wished for Torren to meet Charin and for everything to be out in the open. Then they could all move on.

Kanaan nodded and his gaze dropped to Torren. "Torren? Would you like to meet your new baby sister?" He asked. Torren looked up at his father curiously. Teyla moved to put Torren down on the floor, but his hands tightened on her and his entire body tensed up.

"It is alright, Torren." She said to him softly as she stroked his hair. "I will be back in moment, I promise."

"It is alright, Torren." Kanaan reassured him. "Maybe you would like to show your mother your toys?" That distracted Torren enough for Teyla to place him down and he released her moving towards the small collection of toys on the rug Kanaan had put down on the floor.

Teyla moved towards the doorway. John stood just outside and he met her gaze immediately, assessing her and the situation. She moved calmly and happily towards him, pausing by him.

"I am going to introduce Charin to her new older brother." She told him quietly and she heard the joy and excitement in her own voice.

John didn't look relaxed though, his eyes sliding past her to Kanaan across the room behind her. Teyla stepped closer to John and rested her palm against the centre of his chest, feeling his warmth and the steady beat of his heart. His attention turned back to her immediately and she saw his glow of pleasure at her touch, especially when he hadn't expected it.

"It is alright, John." She said softly and he nodded, but she saw his gaze slide off to Kanaan again as she moved past. A few feet behind John Ronon stood ready and she smiled at him knowing he was staying around to support them and to keep a watchful eye on John.

She headed over to the crib and saw that Charin was fast asleep, so she lifted her up very gently wrapping the blankets around her. As she stood up again she noticed a few people around the infirmary smiling at her and she returned the smiles before turning back to the small private room. She passed John again on the way in and she made sure to touch her free hand against the bare skin of his forearm as she passed.

Torren was standing with a worried expression on her face when she re-entered the room, but he smiled again. His eyes moved to the bundle in her arms and then away down to the pile of toys. Teyla moved back to her seat and pulled back the blankets so Kanaan could see Charin clearly. He leant forward and smiled.

"Teyla, she is beautiful." He said softly.

She smiled at him, pleased that finally it was all settled and though she saw the tension in Kanaan's manner, she saw the acceptance as well. It was important to her that their friendship stay strong, after all they would forever be joined through Torren. Kanaan would always be in her life.

Torren had noticed that there was something interesting in the blankets in her arms and he moved closer, steadying himself against Kanaan's knee.

"Look, Torren." Kanaan said as he indicated Charin. "You have a baby sister."

Torren looked up at him with a frown and then up at Teyla. She smiled encouragingly and he stepped forward, peering into the blankets. He moved closer still curious as he saw Charin.

"Her name is Charin, Torren. You are her big brother." Teyla told him and he looked up at her and then back down at Charin. He settled against Teyla's knee and lifted a hand to touch the new baby.

Teyla lowered Charin enough so he could reach her. "You have to be very gentle with her, Torren." Teyla told him.

He touched Charin's arm very softly and then a little more confidently when Teyla and Kanaan told him he was being very good. Charin stirred and her little eyes opened. She turned her head towards Torren and stared at him with her assessing confused expression.

Emotion swelled in Teyla's chest as she watched her two children meet each other for the first time.

She looked up to the entrance to meet John's eyes and smiled at him, and he finally gave her a soft smile in return.

-----  
TBC


	46. John 13

**Chapter:** 46 - John

-----

The reunion had gone well by the looks of it. Though when John had first heard Teyla's first strangled sob after he had just laid Charin in the new crib, he had rushed to the private room's entrance in what had seemed like a blink of an eye. He had looked around Jennifer in the doorway and had seen Teyla crouched down on the floor her arms around Torren and she had been crying. Only then as he relaxed knowing that she was okay did he realise that his hand had been at his belt where his knife used to live. He had relaxed his hand down to his side and had stood conflicted as he watched Teyla cry like he had ever seen before. The sound of her whispered apologies and confessions of love for her son had been moving and painful to hear. Keller had reached for a nearby box of tissues and had begun dabbing at her own eyes as she watched. John hadn't known what to do; he had wanted to go to Teyla, wrap his arms around her, do anything to help her to stop crying and feel better. But, he knew the tears were normal and expected. He wanted to support her though and perhaps ease the painful ache in his own chest at the sight. But, he had promised her to stay out of the room.

Keller had saved him the decision as she pulled out a load of more tissues from the box and had moved forward offering them to Teyla. That had helped ease everybody and Keller had pulled back and away leaving John a clear view into the room. He had held back, trying to give Teyla the space she had asked for.

So it had been from just outside the door that he had watched Teyla stand up with Torren in her arms and step into Kanaan's embrace. John had watched it, almost counting the seconds until she released Kanaan and stepped back, though not very far. Kanaan had led her over to the chairs, further away from John. Torren had snuggled up against his mom with clear pleasure as she sat down and John had felt a moment of his own pleasure at seeing the boy grown so much and that he clearly had remembered Teyla. That moment of pleasure had been short lived as Teyla and Kanaan leant towards each other as they talked and as John couldn't hear what they were saying he was left to interpret what he was seeing.

They were smiling a lot at each other, which kind of worried John. At one point Kanaan looked up straight at him and the Athosian's expression was clear; the challenge mixed with passive aggression in his eyes. John had heard Ronon's non-too-subtle movement behind him at that point and had understood the warning. Though, he wasn't sure if Ronon was there to support him or to keep the peace. Probably the latter John guessed and once Kanaan looked away back to Teyla John had looked briefly over his shoulder enough for Ronon to see his acknowledgement. John appreciated Ronon being there for he knew Ronon had his and Teyla's best interests at heart and in an odd way John liked the idea of there being someone to pull him back if he got carried away; after living the life they had on that planet his own boundaries and self control had shifted. It would take him time to get back into the polite cultural boundaries. Until then he would have to police himself as best as he could and trust in his friends to warn him as Ronon had just done.

So, telling himself that he was being overly nervous and possessive, he watched Teyla talk to her former lover as their child sat on her lap.

Kanaan had sat further forward at one point and took one of Teyla's hands in his and John had shifted forward unconsciously before he stopped himself. He had fixed himself to the spot, making himself keep back, but he had kept his eyes fixed on their expressions across the room. Kanaan was talking even quieter to Teyla and she looked surprised at what he was saying. John began running through what Kanaan could be saying; maybe confessing his love and begging her to return to him?

Then Kanaan had looked round at him again and though there was less challenge than before, there was still the resentment and male annoyance. John met his gaze, held it refusing to back down, but Kanaan had looked away, sat back again and had released Teyla's hand and John had felt a burst of deep satisfaction; Kanaan knew. But Teyla had reached out for Kanaan's hand again and John had frowned, watching her tightening her fingers around Kanaan's hand as she talked to him. Then it was Kanaan's turn to look shocked and John thought he heard Charin's name. Good.

Teyla had stood and moved towards John and he felt his heart rate leap; what was going on? He had studied her face closely as she approached and had been relieved to see her tears had dried up and that she seemed more peaceful than he had seen her in a long time. She explained as she neared him that she was planning to introduce Charin to Kanaan and Torren and had moved away to collect their daughter. With her gone briefly John had turned his gaze to Kanaan, but the man was talking with Torren. John had the impression that Kanaan was purposefully avoiding his gaze now and that had him pleased but surprised him too; perhaps he had just been too used to living in a place where everyone put up a challenge.

Teyla had returned brushing past him, her brief warm touch against his arm comforting for a moment before she moved forward back into the room carrying Charin to Kanaan and Torren. John was relieved to see that Torren appeared to be very curious about his new sister. Yet, as John had looked at them; the four of them all together, they looked like a little family and he hated that he was standing in the doorway watching. Teyla had looked up at him though and he had seen the happiness in her eyes and the new tears as she watched her son meet Charin. John's tension drained at that, seeing her emotion and relief plain as day and he edged slightly closer into the room, standing just inside the doorway now.

He watched as Torren had begun to show Teyla his toys, carrying them one at a time up for her to see. John noticed that though clearly happy to see his mom, Torren was completely silent. Even as he showed Teyla his toys he didn't say a word or make any sounds. John looked up at Teyla's expression and saw the pleasure, but also worry now. She was concerned for Torren. Ronon had shifted forward to stand just behind John's shoulder and John looked over his shoulder to his friend.

"What's wrong with Torren?" John asked quietly.

"He hasn't wanted to talk." Ronon replied simply.

John turned further round to see that Keller stood next to Ronon. "Shouldn't a kid his age be talking by now?" He asked. A new sense of worry began to bother him; Torren was now part of his life, of his family, and he hated the thought that something might be wrong with Teyla's son.

Keller stepped closer and spoke quietly to him. "Children begin talking about Torren's age, but actual development can vary. If prompted enough and if Torren's willing he will copy sounds and clearly understands what people are saying to him. Dr Murphy feels it is psychological and I have to agree with her. There is nothing medically wrong with him."

John turned back to the family portrait photo across the room. Dr Murphy was the shrink who had joined the city following Heightmeyer's death. John still felt a deep guilty twinge when he thought of the poor woman's death. John hadn't had to interact with Murphy much since she had joined the expedition, but she seemed to know her stuff.

"He's been missing Teyla." Ronon stated as his explanation.

John looked back over his shoulder at them. "Can it be that simple?" He asked Keller.

Keller gave him an apologetic half shrug. "Maybe. It could be that he experienced Teyla's absence as a kind of trauma. I'm sure once he spends plenty of time with Teyla he will brighten up. With encouragement and patience he should be fine." She smiled up at him.

John nodded before he turned back to the room. Torren had climbed up onto Kanaan's lap and was looking down at Charin from his new higher viewpoint whilst Kanaan and Teyla talked. They looked like the perfect little Athosian family and John felt the sudden irrational desire to storm into it, gather Charin up into his arms and pull Teyla out of the room. He knew it was foolish, but he felt excluded even after Teyla had clearly told Kanaan the situation and had shown him her new child. John edged forward another step, listening intently to their soft talk. He thought he heard Halling's name and something about the camp; they were talking about their people. Okay that was safe territory, but once again it reminded John that he couldn't join in and after all Teyla obviously wanted to know all about her people and everything that had happened. He couldn't deny her that. But, as he looked at Kanaan John could see the pleasure the man was taking in telling Teyla all about their people.

"Colonel?" Keller voice broke into his mental worryings. He almost ignored her because he didn't want to talk to her, or acknowledge the edge to her tone that implied she was looking to distract him. But, he looked round at her, knowing it wouldn't be polite to ignore her. She smiled up at him with an annoying touch of sympathy in her eyes. "Would you like to get your scan out the way?"

He knew she was using the request as a distraction and perhaps to give Teyla and Kanaan some space from him. He looked back at the Athosians and turned back to the doctor. "Okay." He agreed. It might be best to get it out the way and it would probably be a good idea to get some space between him and Kanaan. He had noticed Ronon was standing closer as well.

He turned and gave Ronon an amused look. "I'm not going to do anything to him." He protested and though Ronon smiled, there was a beat in which John was aware that both he and Ronon knew that it wasn't that simple. In truth John wasn't sure what he would do and that worried him. He looked back round to look at Teyla, hoping to catch her eye so she would know where he was. The sensation of exclusion returned as he watched her smile at something Kanaan said. She looked so happy. He looked at her intently, willing her to look round at him, but Kanaan said something and she laughed lightly. John wondered if he should go up to her and tell her where he was going, but he didn't want to get so close to them that he might have to actually talk with Kanaan in anyway.

Teyla looked round then and he felt a burst of relief. He took a moment to take in the calm happy look on her face again and then he pointed to himself and then out the door. Teyla understood and nodded. John nodded back, liking her attention solely on him again, but then she turned away again as Torren waved a new toy in front of her face. John tried not to feel bad about it; it meant nothing and he was being silly. So, he turned and followed Keller out of the door. He paused once to look back at Teyla, but she was too busy talking to see his hesitancy so he left quietly.

Ronon left the room with him and Keller and with a quick weighted squeeze of John's shoulder Ronon turned and headed out of the infirmary. Somehow John knew exactly what Ronon had said with that; he supported John, was pleased he was back and that he had behaved himself with Kanaan. And it had also been a gentle warning that John continue to behave himself.

Keller led John across the infirmary and John resisted the urge to look back over his shoulder to the private room. The infirmary was pretty busy now as the survivors had been checked over and were being led out.

"Where are these guys going?" John asked.

Keller looked over her shoulder as she arrived by the bed over which the Ancient scanner was waiting. "We've set aside one of the larger rooms just down the corridor for them. There are beds and all the basics in there. Mr Woolsey still has to discuss with them and IOA where they would like to go. Though, a couple have already requested to stay here." Keller waved at the bed and John climbed up onto the flat surface and laid back. "One is a nurse from what sounds like a technologically advanced race, so we would be happy to have her stay." Keller said conversationally.

Memories of the massive spires of Violet Eyes' ship returned to John's mind and with them the flickering images of the burning fires and the blood staining Violet Eyes' shirt as he had died. The scanner activated above John and he gripped the edges of the bed to keep himself still as it began to pass over him. He felt oddly exposed with the thing passing over him whilst he laid there; which was stupid because he had been under this thing hundreds of times. It passed over his middle and be began to relax some more and when it reached his feet he made himself release the edges of the bed. The scanner slid quickly back up over him to sit above his head and he sat upright immediately and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Hold up, Colonel, I want to do another blood test; see if your blood work has levelled out." Keller said as she turned back to the large screen attached to the scanner.

He paused. "Why? You find something?" He asked as he tried to peer round at the screen.

"No nothing to worry about. I can see you've had a few cuts and bruises of the past year and a half, huh?" She asked.

"A few." John replied; there was no way he was getting into that discussion with her. He looked back towards the private room. He wondered how long Teyla would want to sit and talk with Kanaan. He was pretty sure Kanaan wanted to sit with her for awhile that was for sure.

"Can you pull up your sleeve please, Colonel?" Keller interrupted his thoughts and he returned his attention to her and loosened his sleeve and exposed the inside of his elbow. Keller set the strap around his upper arm and went through the motions he had gone through so many times it was depressing. But, even though he had had blood taken over the last couple of days, it still felt weird to have someone other than Teyla touching him again. He looked down at his own arm as she asked him to make a fist and he watched his vein rise up in the centre of his inner arm. He looked vulnerable there and the healing marks from the other blood tests were still vaguely visible. Keller pulled out her needle and John almost pulled away from her.

"Just a scratch." Keller uttered as she leant down over his arm and John looked away. As the needle entered his vein with a deep scratch of pain he looked back towards the private room again.

Keller set about adding her vial to the needle to collect his blood and released the strap from his arm. Teyla emerged from the private room's entrance and John almost jerked in reaction at seeing her. He heard Charin's grumbles a few moments later; she came out to feed Charin.

He watched Teyla look around the room until she saw him and with a smile she began to make her way through the beds and nurses towards him. Keller pressed against his inner arm as she withdrew the needle and encouraged him to bend his arm. John automatically pressed his fingers over the cotton wool and bent his arm up. He slid off the bed as Teyla neared them.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Yes. It went very well." Teyla reported. Charin's cries were building. "Jennifer, may I sit somewhere to feed Charin?"

Jennifer turned from where she was logging John's blood test. "Yes, of course. The bay at the end is free and you can pull the curtains around it for privacy."

"Thank you, Jennifer." Teyla replied and she looked to John and down to his bent arm.

"Just the usual poking and prodding." John reported.

"Perhaps after Charin has been fed I could put you under the scanner as well, Teyla?" Keller asked.

"Of course." Teyla replied, but John could see the subtle signs of her displeasure; he wondered if she, like him, had had enough of the medical tests. Teyla turned towards the far bay and headed off towards it. John followed along behind, not waiting to ask if Keller had finished with him.

They reached the bay and Teyla sat down on the chair inside ignoring the bed. John pulled the curtains around the bay closed, making sure there were no gaps and turned to see Charin was already nursing eagerly.

"Someone's hungry." John commented as he moved to their side. There was only one chair in the bay which Teyla was sitting on. He considered going out to get another, but decided against it and instead sat up on the edge of the bed. Teyla turned her chair so her shoulder leant against his knee. That tiny touch made him relax a bit. He looked down at Teyla's soft full breast and Charin happily feeding.

"Everything go alright in there?" He asked.

Teyla looked up with a smile. "Yes, I think it went very well. It is wonderful to be able to hold Torren again." She said back softly as she looked down at Charin and stroked her golden fingers over her daughter's skin. Charin's colouring had paled slightly from the red harshness from the birth and John could see now that it held some of Teyla's colour, but her hair was dark like his.

"I told you he would remember you." John gently teased as he nudged Teyla's shoulder with his knee carefully.

She smiled up at him again. "Yes, he did." John could still see the emotion in her eyes and she looked back down at Charin again, stroking her fingers over one tiny hand.

Teyla seemed to be quiet, though obviously happy. He reached out and stroked some strands of her hair away from her neck and shoulder, keeping his touch light. He wanted to ask how Kanaan responded to the news, but couldn't quite find the words. He wanted to know, but not if she was going to get emotional about Kanaan. She turned her head and brushed her cheek against his hand, so he transferred his touch to her cheek and along her jaw line. She closed her eyes and he noticed now that she looked very tired. She had been through a lot.

"You look like you could do with a rest." He suggested gently.

She opened her eyes and nodded. "Yes, but I do not like the idea of sleeping in an infirmary anymore." She smiled up at him with a touch of humour.

He returned her smile, but suddenly the question returned; living quarters. He hadn't wanted to ask her before, as she had been so focused on the reunion with Torren. But, now she needed a bed of her own in which to curl up and rest without other people around. He wanted to be tucked up around her.

"Would it help if I curled up with you on the infirmary bed?" He asked nodding encouragingly down at the bed he was sitting on.

She grinned up at him. "That would improve it, but still I have had enough of being surrounded by activity and the sounds of other people." He nodded in understanding, glad to know that she felt a similar reaction to him.

"I know the feeling." He offered. He slid his touch to her hair again, catching a strand and letting it slip through his fingers. "Walker said he would request some quarters for us." He started.

She sighed. "I am looking forward to some privacy again." She said with feeling as she turned Charin to her other breast. John watched the practiced manoeuvre with admiration; Charin barely grumbled.

"I'll look into it." John replied. It was an old phrase that he had used constantly in Atlantis and he was surprised how the old phrase had slipped so easily from his lips even after all this time.

He chewed on his lower lip for a minute. "So, when I talk to him…" He asked trying to keep his tone light as possible. "Do I ask for one room?" He asked her.

She looked up at him again and she looked surprised for a moment, which kind of helped. "Do you wish to have your own quarters?" She asked in what he thought was a careful tone.

He decided to throw his all in. "No, but if you want, you know…to be alone…"

Teyla's hand settled on his knee. "I would prefer for us to stay together." She told him, her eyes wide and earnest.

He almost felt lightheaded with relief. "Okay." He replied as he stared at her and she smiled up at him. He leant down, caught her chin in his hand and kissed her soft lips. They parted and he sat up straight again, his heart easing gently. They were okay. She wanted to stay with him and they could actually be able to curl up alone together tonight in a proper bed. With that thought came the decision he would push for the quarters asap and he would make sure she had a comfortable bed to nap on this afternoon.

Her hand touched his knee again. "John, I would like Torren to stay with us tonight. Is that alright?"

He was surprised she would ask. "I assumed he would be staying with us half the time anyway." He replied.

She eased out a breath, like she had been worried about that. He returned his touch to her closest shoulder again, which was slightly more bared now she was feeding Charin on that side. He slid the back of his fingers along the top line of her shoulder, enjoying the softness of her skin.

She looked back up at him. "Kanaan would like to stay for awhile longer today so Torren can be as relaxed as possible. I think it would be good for Torren to be with both of us every day for awhile, so he can feel secure."

John nodded, trying not to not to agree with the idea in his head. The little guy needed to feel secure again. John nodded. "Sure."

"Kanaan says Torren has been unwilling to learn to talk and he does not play very much with the other children." She said a little sadly.

"Keller told me. She said not all kids start talking at the same time and he probably just needs encouragement." He told her. "And his mom." He added. Teyla nodded at that, but John could tell she was blaming herself. "He seems pretty happy today." John added, hoping to turn things more towards the positive.

"Yes, he does." Teyla replied.

Charin had finished feeding and was falling sleep against Teyla. Teyla lifted her to her shoulder and gently began patting her back. Charin grumbled since she had been falling into a nice snooze by the look of it. John smiled down at his daughter as she muttered little baby sounds from against Teyla's shoulder. John stroked her little head, enjoying the warmth of her small body and her little attitude as she continued to protest. John looked from Charin to Teyla; seeing the darkness under her eyes that seemed to be increasing.

"Why don't I take Charin and you spend time with Torren." John suggested.

Teyla looked up at him. "Are you sure?"

"Sure." John replied as he reached for Charin. "Besides Charin hasn't seen any of Atlantis yet. She can help me sort out some quarters for us all."

Teyla handed Charin up to him. Charin protested again at being moved. John draped the small blanket over his shoulder and settled Charin against him. Her small warmth felt just right against him and he began patting her back and she instantly gave out a little burp. "Nice one." John told her appreciatively as he wiped her mouth.

Teyla chuckled as she stood up from the chair. She adjusted her top back into place. "I will go see Jennifer first, get the 'poking and prodding' out of the way first." She said.

John looked up at her and saw she looked a little brighter now. "I'll try and get the quarters sorted and apparently our stuff has been taken out of storage so I'll find it all." He wanted it all sorted for Teyla, even if they had to sleep on a bed with no sheets it didn't matter; that was how they had been living anyway. At least she could properly rest and he might be able to as well. They would have secure private walls around their space and then maybe he might be able to relax somewhat.

Teyla reached towards him, her cool fingers sliding around his chin and jaw. "Thank you, John." She said softly and there was a definite depth to her voice that had him looking straight into her eyes and he saw her appreciative look before she leant in and kissed him. Her lips were brief against his, but soft and gentle and made him long for this evening when they could cuddle up again, finally to sleep what he hoped would be his first peaceful night in a long time.

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TBC


	47. Kanaan 3

**Chapter:** 47 - Kanaan

**Note:** In typical form with me it's all or nothing - so after not posting much this week I now move into the 'all' stage and offer 3 new chapters in one go.

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Kanaan waved to Teyla and Torren and turned towards the glowing portal. He had spent several hours here talking with Teyla and playing with Torren, though the last hour had been spent helping set up a bed for Torren tonight. Kanaan had helped to carry some things to Teyla and Sheppard's new quarters. Several of Teyla's other friends had also turned up to help move boxes and furniture into the new quarters and it had turned into quite a busy place of activity that Torren had found quite fun.

Teyla didn't have a bed that was suitable for Torren, but between them they had padded out and strengthened the old playpen for Torren tonight. Kanaan would return tomorrow to spend some of the day with them and he hoped to have found a spare crib for Torren. If he could not find something then he would take Torren's current bed from his tent for Torren's stay with Teyla. Kanaan could then build another bed if necessary in that time before Torren returned to stay with him.

Kanaan had felt comfortable leaving Torren there for the night, knowing his son was happy to be back with his mother. What hadn't been as comfortable had been walking into the new quarters and seeing the large double bed two people had been putting together for Teyla and Sheppard. Kanaan had kept his attention on the playpen instead.

It was difficult to say goodbye to Torren for the night, though Kanaan had been away from him for longer days whilst he had worked on the irrigation system, but now Torren was on an entirely different planet. He had found it difficult to care for his son alone before now, though his love for his son had not dimmed. That Teyla had returned made it easier and that they could work together for what was best for their son. However, it still hurt to turn and leave his son behind him for the night.

He stepped through the glowing blue light and out into the early evening of his new homeworld. There were a few people around even though it was late evening and he nodded to those he knew as he turned down the path that led to the Athosian camp. He wandered along the path, feeling empty without his son with him and with his new separation from Teyla. He reached the forest just before the camp and turned off the path, heading through the darkening trees and shrubs. He found a comfortable enough log and sat down, facing towards the distant lowering suns.

He took a breath. At least now he knew and he could move on. He had not been surprised to learn of Teyla's change of heart, though that she had a new baby had been a shock. In a way he was relieved now and finally he felt like he could really feel settled in the new camp. He knew where his future was heading and he was pleased now to know that he could finish the river project with the others. Though, he still could not ignore the aching pain in his chest. He had loved Teyla for a long time and he knew he would always hold deep feelings for her, but when he had seen her today he had been oddly pleased by her clear decision. She wanted a different life and though he would be linked to it from now onwards, he was not limited by it.

She had made it clear that she wanted their friendship to continue and he felt the same. He did not want to fall into resentment and grief. Instead he would work with her for their son and he could still enjoy the friendship they had shared for so many years. Though, he had caught himself several times today glaring at Colonel Sheppard and he hadn't been able to ignore his resentment and the jealously in those moments. The Colonel always seemed to know when he was being looked at and always returned the glare, and what Kanaan saw in the man's eyes was a little frightening he could admit to himself. But, he could also see the man's loyalty and love for Teyla as well, and that pleased Kanaan even if it annoyed him at the same time. He suspected that he and the Colonel would simply have to tolerate each other, though Kanaan had felt a little hunted at times when he had turned his back on the Colonel. But, for Teyla's sake he was sure that they could behave themselves in the future around each other.

At the far horizon the larger sun was almost disappearing behind the black hills, whilst the smaller sun hovered just on the edge of the growing darkness. Kanaan watched them silently and began to pray to the Ancestors; he asked for patience and tolerance in dealing with Colonel Sheppard, he thanked them for the return of Teyla, and he asked for strength for himself in moving on. He closed his eyes as the last rays of the light ghosted up from the landscape and in his mind he cut the ties that bound him and Teyla in their romantic relationship.

The coolness of the new night chilled his skin and he opened his eyes to the darkened land. He stood and made his way carefully back to the path and on to the camp. Though the pain still lingered in his heart, and would for some time to come he was sure, he would see this as a new beginning and he would now move forward. Perhaps he would even, eventually, ask Kerra to the summer festival next season.

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TBC


	48. Teyla 14

**Chapter:** 48 - Teyla

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Teyla led Torren away from the Gate room and down the corridor. His little hand was tightly holding her fingers as he walked by himself; which still amazed her to see. He walked as young children did; with big movements as if he didn't have complete control of his legs yet and she couldn't help smiling at him in delight. He paused again and looked back down the corridor towards the Gate room, his little expression worried.

"Your Father will be back tomorrow, Torren. I promise." She assured him again and he looked back up to her and with a gentle pull on his hand he returned his attention to walking along with her. He looked back over his shoulder again though. "When we get back home you can see your new room, Torren."

He looked up at her with a frown, but she saw the sparkle of interest.

"We can put all your toys in there, just for you." She added and he gave her a smile; he liked the words 'toys' she had discovered.

Several people passed them in the corridor and Torren paused to look up at them with interest. Several of them said hello, speaking to Torren as well as to Teyla before they moved on. It pleased her to see that so many knew her son, that Ronon and the others had kept such close contact with Torren. Torren watched everything they passed by and started to point at things, sometimes making little noises to catch her attention. Each time he pointed out things she asked him what the object was called, but he lost interest at that point and trudged on down the corridor.

His little hand was nice and tight on her fingers and she felt herself getting emotional again at the wonder of being back with him. Though six months had been a long time for Torren, in truth it was a tiny amount of time in his life and she thanked the Ancestors that she had not been gone any longer.

Torren paused and looked back over his shoulder, having remembered that Kanaan was missing again and this time he began to frown and lifted one hand to his mouth. She crouched down with him and saw the worried look in his eyes.

"Your Father will miss you tonight, but he will return to visit you tomorrow, Torren." She said hating the worry and sadness in Torren's eyes. "Shall I carry you back home?" She picked him up, settling his new weight on her hip. His arms circled her neck, but he still looked worried. "Are you hungry?" She asked, drawing his attention from the corridor behind her as she moved to the staircase. He shook his head, but a small frown still creased his forehead. "Then we shall pull out all your old toys and you can play for awhile. Maybe you could help unpack some boxes as well?" She asked, knowing her tone was distracting him as much as her words.

They reached the right level and she moved quickly down the corridor. Torren was chewing on his thumb as he looked at the corridor walls around them. They reached the new quarters and Teyla set Torren down as she activated the doors.

"Rodney, come on, Torren could have put that together by now." Carson was saying as the doors slid open and instantly Torren's attention was redirected to the chatter inside.

"There are clearly some pieces missing." Rodney protested from where he was sitting on the floor waving a screwdriver above the bedside table he was putting together.

"All the pieces are there, McKay." Ronon commented as he passed carrying one end of the wide bed across the room with John. Torren moved into the room, pulling his hand from Teyla's as he took in all the interesting activity.

"Torren, stay out the way of Uncle Ronon." Teyla warned as she caught Torren's shoulder as Ronon passed.

"Hey, little Warrior." Ronon said down to Torren and Torren giggled in response. Teyla smiled down at her son's pleasure and at the wonderful sight of all the people she cherished in one place.

Jennifer was unpacking baby stuff across the room in an area which was now opposite where John and Ronon set down the bed. Rodney was muttering over the bedside table as he slid the drawers into it and consulted the torn piece of paper that apparently held the directions for the construction. Carson stood over Rodney, his arms full of Charin; Teyla suspected she already had her first babysitter lined up.

"Hallo, luv." Carson greeted her. "Your little girl is still fast asleep."

"You keep her for now, Carson, she obviously feels comfortable with you." Teyla replied and Carson looked pleased.

"You have missed these two moving the room round several times." Carson said amused as he indicated John and Ronon, who had just finished pushing the headboard of the bed against the far wall.

"I think it's better over here." John said as he stood away from the bed and pointed to the area that held Charin's crib opposite him. "Then we can have Charin close and the two smaller rooms are close by."

She nodded her agreement as she moved towards him and Ronon, Torren ran ahead towards the open box of toys near Jennifer. "That sounds good." She replied. She stood and looked at the room around her. "We could place the easy chairs in the centre of the room around the dark rug I should have still." She held her hands towards the area. "That way we can divide the room up into this sleeping area and the desks and side units over the other side of the sitting area. The children can play on the rug there safely." She added, seeing it nice and clearly in her mind. She headed towards the stacked large chairs.

"Don't you pick that up." John warned her as he arrived beside her, reaching past to pick up the chair before she could. She opened her mouth to protest. "Carson?" John asked as he lifted the chair.

"He's right, luv, you shouldn't go lifting anything heavy for a few more days." He said softly and she was barely able not to roll her eyes as she met John's gaze. He smiled victoriously at her and as their friends were here she bit back the retort she could have used. John nodded knowingly and moved away with the chair and Ronon leant past her to pick up the next chair and he gave her an amused smile.

"You can supervise." John added as he set his chair down near the centre of the room. "About here?"

She followed Ronon. "Yes, maybe two lines opposite each other and I will find the rug from my things to put down between them. We could also put my tea chest at the far end." She pointed to where it could stand. Ronon nodded and headed towards the piece of furniture. She smiled at him as she hadn't known he even knew what the chest looked like, but he plucked it up easily and carried over to her as John set another couple of chairs around where the rug would go.

She turned and located her boxes stacked near Jennifer who was chatting away to Torren as they pulled out his old baby toys. Teyla headed over to them.

"I noticed that one box was marked linens, so I took them down to the laundry. Carrie was down there and offered to press them when they came out of the dryer." Jennifer told her as she arrived by the boxes.

"Jennifer, you did not need to do that." Teyla replied, touching her hand against her friend's shoulder.

"You two need fresh bedding for tonight. You deserve it." She replied.

"I am looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed again." Teyla replied as she looked over her shoulder at the wide bed. It was now hers and John's and she felt a strange little flush of warmth to her cheeks; none of their friends had said anything about their new relationship, or the fact that they were now living together. They had all simply arrived to help out and as she looked round at them she felt herself feeling emotional again.

"It's finished." Rodney exclaimed from across the room as he stood up from the completed bedside table.

Ronon moved to join him and rocked the table rather aggressively to see if it would stay in together.

"Don't do that; it's fine!" Rodney protested as he tried to push Ronon away.

"Great Rodney, thanks." John said as he passed with another chair. "We need two though." He added with a smile and she watched him exchange an amused glance with Carson.

"Ah, man." Rodney protested.

"It's alright, Rodney, I'll put that one together if you want." Carson offered.

"No, no, I can do it." Rodney replied as he awkwardly tried to pick up the completed bedside table. Ronon brushed away his hands, lifted it easily and carried it to the bed side.

Teyla turned to see Jennifer trying to hide her laughter as she looked at Rodney with shining eyes. Teyla was pleased that her two friends were still happy with one another. She turned then to the boxes again and looked down the stacks. Someone had taken great pains to label them all with their name and the basic contents. She located the one she suspected held the right furnishings and Jennifer immediately stepped in to help lift the boxes on top and Teyla tried to be thankful and not protest that she could manage; they all cared about her. She opened the box and Torren stepped close to peer in beside her. She pulled out some wall hangings and found the rugs underneath. She selected the right one, shook it out slightly and carried it over to the chair area. She spread it down and John set about rearranging the chairs around the rug. Happy, Teyla stood back to look at the result. John's arm slipped around her waist and she looked up at him with a smile.

"Happy with them there?" He asked nodding towards the chairs.

"Very." She replied as she looked past him across the room; it was strange to know that this whole room was hers and John's. They had lived in a small tent for so long and even after their rescue they had had to live in an even smaller curtained space. Now, they had all this space just to themselves. The bathroom attached to the room was almost as big as their tent had been!

She looked back up to John. "Are you happy with it all?" She asked, wanting him to be happy with their new space as well.

He looked around. "Looks great." He replied and she suspected he would have agreed either way. She watched an amused frown pass over his face as he looked over her shoulder. "How you doing, McKay?" He asked. Teyla looked round to see Rodney struggling with the sides of the next bedside table.

"I'm fine, why does everyone think I can't put furniture together? I've built atomic weapons and put spaceships back together; I think I can handle a couple of bedside tables!"

Teyla could see John's pleasure at his friend as he pulled away from Teyla to move forward to help Rodney, though he paused and placed a small kiss against her cheek. She smiled happily as he moved away and she saw Carson beaming at her. She knew she was blushing, but she ignored it and moved towards Carson.

"I think your little girl is getting hungry." Carson said as she approached and Teyla looked down to see that Charin was awake and grumbling. She reached for her daughter taking her from Carson's caring arms.

"Thank you, Carson. I will go and feed her." She moved towards what would be the nursery, catching John's eye as she passed where he was sitting on the floor assisting Rodney putting the bedside table together.

She walked into the smaller of the two adjoining rooms and saw that someone had unpacked the soft baby toys and the musical mobile ready for the room to be made into a nursery. There were several boxes of baby wipes and nappy supplies as well, which she guessed had been Jennifer's work. There was also a chair in here on which someone had put a pillow against its back for her. Charin began crying loudly as Teyla settled down, opened her top and settled Charin to nurse. Charin already seemed larger in Teyla's hands as she held her daughter. Jennifer and Carson had both told her that Charin was perfectly well and her steady weight gain over the last four days since her birth was just right.

A light tap on the outside of the door announced John's presence before the doors opened. He stepped in quickly and the doors shut behind him.

"Everything okay?" He asked as he moved to her side.

"Yes, everything is fine." She replied.

He moved over to the baby toys and settled down on the floor by her. He reached for a bright purple coloured stuffed toy that someone had given Torren when he had been young.

"Carrie just dropped off the bed sheets." John told her as he contemplated the purple animal. Charin's eyes turned towards his voice Teyla noticed.

"I will thank her when I next see her." Teyla replied, still touched at the kindness of everyone. "I shall have to repay her kindness."

"She said she would accept a baby cuddle as payment." John replied with a smile.

Teyla laughed lightly. "I think we will not be short of babysitters."

John nodded, though she suspected he wouldn't be too comfortable with anyone else handling their daughter yet; other than their closest friends. "Carson and Jennifer will be the most likely I think." She told him and he nodded more animatedly.

He looked back towards the closed door and then around at the room in which they sat. "It's strange having so much space." He commented.

"I was thinking the same." She replied. "It is so much quieter here as well." She added.

They sat in contented silence, with only Charin's little noises breaking the silence. There was no shouting, arguing, or threats of imminent violence just outside their door anymore. Just silence, which was then interrupted by a yelp outside at something and then some laughter and they both smiled.

"It is good to be home." Teyla said.

"I'm looking forward to actually being able to sleep in a proper bed tonight." John replied. "We can curl up under the warm duvet and wake up whenever we want." His eyes dropped to Charin. "Or at least as long as Munchkin here lets us." He added as he reached up to touch Charin lightly as she stared at him with her wide eyes.

Charin had pretty much finished so Teyla handed her over to John as she pulled her shirt back into place. John settled Charin against him and stood up. Teyla stood up with him, reached out and touched her fingers against his bare forearm.

She leant into him, leaning herself against his chest alongside their daughter and he wrapped his free arm around her, whilst she steadied Charin in his other arm. This was the first time they had been alone together all day and she closed her eyes and drew in his smell. She was also looking forward to being able to fall asleep next to him again. They could cuddle up and perhaps he would be able to have a proper restful night's sleep.

She pulled back enough from the strong planes of his chest to look up at him. He leant down and pressed his lips to hers and she felt his desire to be alone with her in his kiss. She kissed him back, reaching up with one hand to run her fingers through his hair. It would be many weeks until they could enjoy each other thoroughly again, but for now she took what she could from him. His taste comforted her, his lips always hungry against hers and as he parted his lips from hers he placed a small kiss on her nose and then on her temple before she stood back. He dropped his arm away from her back and returned to burping duty, but his eyes with darker than normal as he smiled down at her.

She squeezed his warm strong forearm and she led the way to the door, which opened without her reaching for the controls and she smiled over her shoulder at John; she had forgotten about his Ancient gene. She wondered what else he could control with only a thought in this city.

"About time." Rodney protested as he shuffled his second completed bedside table into place. "Are we going to have to get used to you two disappearing to make out?"

"Rodney!" Jennifer admonished him as the others laughed.

Teyla smiled at her friends as they returned to helping her and John make their new quarters a proper home; for it was, because they were her family and they were all together again.

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TBC


	49. John 14

**Chapter:** 49 - John

**Note: **I am not a psychologist and do not pretend to be, so please forgive any factual mistakes on the subject in the relevant scene in this chapter.

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John had almost reached the bottom of the last of his boxes as he pulled out a small cardboard box he didn't recognise from one corner. There was very little left in the storage box for him to go through which meant he was running out of things to do whilst Kanaan visited. John looked up from the box to the seating area in the centre of their new quarters to where Teyla sat with Kanaan and Torren. Kanaan had visited everyday, staying for hours at a time as he and Teyla talked about the Athosian camp and planned how to help Torren.

John had been steadily going through his boxes from storage during those times and he had had to really work at drawing out the process. After all he only had five boxes, as compared to Teyla's ten and that wasn't including the bags that Kanaan had brought back for her from Athos. A lot of John's things had initially been handed out to others as per John's request when he had been officially 'MIA'. However, once they had realised he could still be alive his things had been gathered back together again and packed into storage; which explained why everything was so clean and well stacked in the boxes. He had been a little surprised at the amount in them; he had forgotten that he had so much, but perhaps that was a reaction following the past year during which he had survived with a knife, two changes of clothes and a water skin. And Teyla.

He looked round at her again where she sat comfortably talking with Kanaan. Halling hadn't had a chance to visit yet as there had been some sort of river related crisis in the Athosian camp, but Kanaan said Halling would probably visit tomorrow. John looked forward to that as Teyla had been really looking forward to seeing her old friend. Though John was also a little nervous about meeting the big Athosian again; he was rather like an older brother to Teyla – what would he think about Teyla choosing him over Kanaan?

Kanaan had suggested Teyla could visit the camp, but John had been pleased to hear her turn the offer down for the time being. She had quoted Keller's statement that Teyla was to be monitored, though John knew it was more of a formality than anything else; Teyla was fine though still recovering from the birth. What it told John was that Teyla, like him, was reluctant to venture out of Atlantis yet. They had only been back in the city for four days and he was aware of how much they had isolated themselves into their quarters. But, he had loved being able to just be with her and the kids. Charin had only just started to settle into a routine, which still involved waking them in the middle of the night, but she was sleeping for longer periods. John liked being in the quarters; it made him feel safe and in control. But, he also knew that it wasn't that healthy and that come the end of the week they would have to head out into the 'real world' a little more.

Woolsey had given him two weeks sick leave, and Keller had said John could only return to work then on light duty for a couple of weeks to then be assessed by herself and Doctor Murphy. John looked forward to getting back to work again, but at the same time he still felt tired and preferred to stay with Teyla and Charin. In fact the longest he had left them over the past four days was to head to the mess hall to bring food back to their quarters. No doubt everyone had noticed though their friends never commented on it when they came round to visit. Ronon had offered to start up their sparring sessions again, which was tempting. But, John still kind of liked being in their quarters; to be with Teyla and the kids for awhile.

Well, not that he really enjoyed these times when Kanaan visited. John glanced up at the man talking with Teyla. John knew he could, or perhaps should, head out into the city during these long visits to give them space, but he couldn't. He hated the idea of leaving Teyla alone with Kanaan. He knew he was being paranoid, but the two of them seemed to be getting on really well and John didn't like the pleasure in Kanaan's eyes as he talked with Teyla. John trusted Teyla; she had told him she loved him and they were living together happily, but… Hadn't Kanaan and Teyla been living happily together before Teyla had been thought lost? The two of them still had a clear connection that they enjoyed and it bothered John to see it. What if she still loved Kanaan? What if she changed her mind again and went back to Kanaan?

John never joined the two of them sitting around the toy strewn rug, as he didn't want to have to sit and make polite conversation with Kanaan and he knew Kanaan didn't either. But, he didn't want to just leave them alone in his and Teyla's quarters. He knew he was still feeling possessive from his time on the planet, but that didn't stop him feeling it. And he was fast running out of things to look busy doing when Kanaan was staying. When Charin was awake she was the best excuse to be around, but she was currently fast asleep and he was almost at the bottom of his last box. Maybe he should have a word with Walker; maybe he could read through some reports from the past six months to catch up before he returned to work.

Kanaan looked up and John quickly looked away, aware that he had been staring at the man, assessing his expressions. John returned his attention to the strange small box in his hand. He opened it to find his old mp3 player inside with its charger. He pulled out the compact little player; he hadn't thought about being able to listen to music again. He activated the device and its small screen lit up still partly charged. He scrolled through the familiar list of songs and lifted one side of the earphones to his ear and set one song to play. The rich full voice of Johnny Cash was oddly emotional to hear again and he smiled at the realisation that he could enjoy reacquainting himself with his music collection. He shut off the music and wound the earphones cable around the player and set it aside.

He turned back to his last box and pulled out various comics and magazines from the bottom and flicked through them, again surprised at how new they felt to him even though he had read them all many times before. Everything felt new again. He looked up towards Teyla and Kanaan again before checking his watch; he was due to meet Murphy for a session in fifteen minutes and it didn't look like these guys were going to wrap it up anytime soon. He and Teyla had been forced to attend individual sessions with Murphy and though Teyla appeared to enjoy having the sessions, John did not. That today he was going to be forced to attend another whilst he knew Kanaan was in his quarters talking and laughing with Teyla wasn't going to help. With a quiet sigh he returned his attention to the last layers at the bottom of the box.

Two small hands wrapped over the side edge of the box and John looked round to see Torren standing next to the box. Torren had attached himself to Teyla over these last few days and John had given them space, enjoying the extra time he got with Charin who was staying awake for longer now. Therefore John hadn't had too much contact with Torren over the last few days. Now, Torren had apparently wandered across the room to see what John was doing.

"Hey, Buddy." John smiled at him. Torren looked up at him with dark eyes that were shockingly similar to Teyla's. "You wanna see what I'm up to, huh?" John wasn't entirely sure how to address a kid of Torren's age, but he had been listening to how Teyla and Kanaan talked to him.

Torren peered down into the box and John lifted a comic for Torren to see. Torren seemed fascinated and leaned closer to look, before wandering around the box and moved to sit on John's lap. A little surprised and oddly touched, he lifted Torren up onto his knee and let him hold the comic. The pages were too thin for Torren to turn, so John held it open and turned the pages letting Torren look at the pictures. John looked round at Teyla to see her smiling over her shoulder at him before she returned to her conversation.

Torren made a protesting noise and John looked down to see that he was pointing to a picture of a baby and then he pointed off towards Charin's crib.

"Baby. Yes, well done, Torren." John told him. "You recognise anything else in the pictures?" He asked using the tone as he heard Teyla use with the boy.

Torren leaned forward over the comic looking intently before he pointed at a table in one picture and then with a brief sound he pointed towards the low table near them. Torren got into this game quite quickly and was pointing out many things, though he obviously took particular joy in pointing out the baby when it appeared in the comic's pages and would point to Charin again every time. He obviously understood whatever John asked him and though he didn't say anything he would look up and round as John repeated a word and John could see Torren shaping his mouth to mimic him. Keller had assured Teyla that there was nothing wrong with Torren and now John saw this up close he felt a little more reassured about it all.

The radio across the room let out a loud click. "Colonel Sheppard, please?" A voice issued out. John and Teyla hadn't started wearing their radios again, as they were on leave, but there was a radio handset in the room through which people could reach them on a specific channel, or for emergencies. John looked at his watch as he lifted Torren off his knee; he was late for his session with Murphy. He grabbed the radio.

"Sheppard here, sorry I lost track of time, Murphy." He said into it, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"I will see you in say five minutes then, Colonel." Murphy replied.

"I'll be there." John replied politely, before putting the radio back down without dropping it in disgust as he really wanted to do. He turned back to Torren to see he was already wandering back over to Teyla and Kanaan. Teyla looked up at him.

"I've got to go to Murphy's session." John told her with a shrug and she gave him a smile that told him both that she understood, but also that she was amused at his annoyance. John narrowed his eyes at her and reached for a jacket. He moved towards her only to remember that Kanaan was here and the annoyance at having to leave whilst she was still here with him flared through John. He pulled on his jacket as he reached her and he bent down and kissed her quickly, not caring that Kanaan was only a foot or so away. As he stood upright and turned to leave he saw Teyla's narrowed eyed glance as he left; she hadn't missed his clear possessiveness.

John left their quarters and made his way down the corridor to the staircase and made his way up in his own time, trying not to feel anger towards Murphy or Kanaan. Someone passed him on the stairs, brushing past him as they muttered an apology. John bit back a retort as he made himself relax, having tensed up at the knock and he realised his hand was at his belt again, where his knife used to live. The adrenaline and pent up aggression from Kanaan's presence, the unwanted call to the session and the shove on the stairs was inappropriate he knew, but it was still there. He should take up Ronon's offer to start sparring again; that would probably help burn off some of his tension.

He reached the level of Murphy's office and headed along the quieter corridors of this section of the tower. The architecture was lighter and airier up here and he guessed that had been one of the reasons why it had been chosen for this kind of work. Murphy's door opened before he reached it and she waved him inside. The door shut behind him and he noticed that she had raised the temperature in the room to what was more comfortable for him. She had noted his crossed arms throughout the last session and he had told her about the temperature difference back on the planet and she had lifted the temperature of the room; it hadn't helped him open up any, but he was surprised by her thoughtfulness now.

"Sorry. I was reading comics with Torren." John said as an excuse.

She waved him to the plush chair opposite the one she now settled herself into and as she did she gave him a smile and a nod that said she didn't quite believe his apology. He pulled off his jacket and settled down opposite her. She reached for the clipboard balanced on her chair's arm and settled it over her lap, pulling out a pen as she did. Murphy was about Teyla's height and was strongly built with a full head of short blonde hair that Rodney had once referred to as 'Carter-wanna-be'. If John remembered Murphy's file she was the only daughter in a military family and she had trained for a short time in the navy, but had pulled out to pursue psychology. She had returned to the military way of life as a consultant psychologist or whatever, and as she possessed the Ancient gene and was well versed with the military lifestyle it was understandable why she had been selected as Heightmeyer's replacement. John actually quite liked her; she was up front and honestly trying to help. That didn't mean he wanted the session.

"How are you doing, Colonel?" She asked with a kind smile. He tried not to feel scrutinised under her pale blue gaze.

"Fine." He replied.

She smiled at him as she clicked her pen. "I read the report you submitted to Mr Woolsey on your 'stay' in the pocket." John nodded knowing that she would. "Have to say I was surprised to see what had been a year and a half condensed down into only two pages." John hadn't enjoyed writing the report.

"There wasn't all that much to tell; how we got trapped there, how we found the camp and the final attack." He summarised even further. "Besides, I told you all about it last time." He added. He knew a bit about psychologists and how to handle them. The best method of attack, other than just not saying anything, which he now referred to as the Ronon technique, was to give them lots in one go keeping it all superficial. So in the previous sessions he had told her from start to finish everything that had happened; telling her what it had been like in the observatory section as it had crashed, what their rescuers had been like, how he and Teyla had survived for so long, how they found the camp and finally the last battle and even Violet Eyes' death. He had described everything for her, keeping it all superficial and generally informative, like his report.

"Yes, I remember. A truly interesting and difficult year and a half, but as I said at the end of the last session; there is a difference between telling the story as you would to anyone and how you actually felt about it all."

"Mr Woolsey or the IOA don't need to know all that." John added.

"True, but you do." Murphy replied.

"Well, I was there, so I'm pretty sure I know how I felt about it all." John responded.

"Well, that's what I am here for; to hear that side of the story." She tilted her head to one side. "You know that, Colonel, and your attempts to circumnavigate this process are understandable, but will not succeed. My report with be a linchpin in deciding when you will return to work fulltime. And more importantly from my perspective; I am here to help you deal with what has happened and move on."

"It was stressful." He supplied her. "Fighting for your life everyday; it's stressful."

She nodded and scribbled something down on her clipboard. "Living like that for a year and a half is a very long time to have to live in that state."

"Yes." He replied; what else was there to say about it anyway?

"It must have felt like being a prisoner on that world." She remarked.

John thought about that for a minute. "I guess; I didn't really have time to philosophise about it."

"But, you do now." Murphy challenged him back.

He glared at her for a few moments, but she just met his gaze patiently and he caught himself thinking about whether that planet had been like a prison. "Sure, it was like being a prisoner, but unlike a prisoner there was no outside world. We had no idea where we were and we never expected to be rescued."

She nodded. "But, unlike most prisoners you had proper company at least; Teyla."

John felt himself tensing up. "My relationship with Teyla is a personal matter." He replied, hearing the iron in his voice.

She didn't challenge him on that, only nodded. "I understand, but I meant that you had someone to watch your back, to talk to, to share your experiences with."

He didn't want to get into any kind of discussion about Teyla, because he didn't want to have to think that their relationship had been born simply from circumstances. If they had been rescued before he and Teyla had reached Violet Eyes' camp would they be together? Would Charin never have existed? He wondered if Kanaan was still in their quarters talking with Teyla. What if she was asking herself the same questions? What if she was slowly changing her mind from him back to Kanaan?

"Are you alright, Colonel?" Murphy cut into his thoughts and he realised he had gone silent and that his hands were fisted up on the chair's arms. He made himself relax his hands and shoulders.

"Fine." He replied.

"Have you discussed everything that happened with Teyla?" She asked. John glared at her; was she talking about their relationship or their time on the planet. He replayed their conversation before and decided it had been the latter.

"She was there with me and I guess we talked about it at the time." Though, he didn't really remember sitting down and rehashing something that had just happened in the camp with Teyla. "Life wasn't like that anyway; we had to stay quiet a lot of the time anyway and we communicate fine." He added.

Murphy studied him.

He glanced at his watch without caring if Murphy had noticed. How had only ten minutes passed?!

"How are you adjusting to life back in the city?" Murphy asked, apparently choosing a different tactic.

He shrugged. "It's nice to be back." She waited for more. The next technique he used with psychologists was to actually give them a small nugget of truth and focus them just on that. "I'm finding it difficult to be around lots of people." He confessed.

"I understood from your report that the camp in which you both stayed was a very busy place?" She asked.

"Sure, but everyone was out to get each other." He added with dark humour. "It wasn't like you went and had a coffee with your neighbours." John suddenly remembered the soup lady who had given him and Teyla the bucket of hot water; had she survived?

"Do you feel like you are under threat still from people around you?"

"I'm on guard still, that's all." John replied.

"Guarding yourself and Teyla?"

He nodded. "And Charin." He added.

Murphy briefly smiled warmly and he liked her a little more at that. "Of course." Her smile disappeared once again behind her schooled expression. "It must have been quite a strain to be on guard that much and to protect Teyla and Charin at all times."

He wasn't sure how to answer that; of course he would protect them. "It was just the way life was there and I don't regret it." He replied with a shrug.

"Of course not, but you no longer need to protect them like that."

John frowned and resisted the urge to look at his watch again.

"Or do you still feel like you need to protect them?" Murphy asked.

"It's not like life in Atlantis is all that safe at times." He replied. "But, no I know they're both safe here." He had contradicted himself slightly there but he ignored it.

Murphy scribbled briefly. "It's very important to you isn't it; protecting people?"

"It's what I do." He replied.

"You mean your work in the military?"

"Sure." He added. "That's how I see the military; we do what we need to to protect people."

"It doesn't always work out that way though." Murphy replied making him feel uneasy. He glanced at his watch. "Are you that eager for the session to end, or is there somewhere else you want to be, Colonel?" She asked.

He flattened his hands on the chairs' arms to stop himself from looking at his watch again. "No." He lied and she gave him a smiling look.

"Perhaps back in your quarters with Teyla and your daughter?" She asked.

"And Torren." He added with a smug smile.

"I haven't seen you around the mess hall this past week." She added.

"I've been there, but we've mostly been in our quarters with the kids. You know; getting used to being back here." He replied. He hadn't felt all that comfortable sitting in the mess hall; there were too many people moving around and talking for him to feel at ease yet.

She nodded. "And with you being uncomfortable around crowds it is understandable. You feel safe in your quarters. Your family is safe in there."

John just gave her a half shrug. "Sure."

"You will have to come out of your quarters some time, Colonel. So will Teyla and without you by her side." Murphy said.

John knew she was now challenging him on purpose and despite trying not to resist that it still worked to agitate him slightly. "After what we've been through I don't think anyone could blame us for wanting some quiet time alone."

"Of course not." She replied. "My point still stands though."

"We'll head out of our quarters. Teyla wants personal time with Torren anyway." John added, hoping perhaps to deflect some attention off him, but in his own mind he only circled back to whether Kanaan was still in their quarters.

"You said you were reading comics with Torren before coming here; how do you feel about Torren?" Murphy asked.

"He's a great little guy. He's happy to have his mom back and we're trying to encourage him to start talking." Great maybe he could ask her about Torren and deflect her that way.

"I meant that he is Kanaan's son." Murphy added. "Does that bother you?"

John was starting not to like this woman anymore. "No, it doesn't. It's hardly his fault that he's Kanaan's son."

"So it is Kanaan that you find fault with then?" He swore he could see a touch of devilish pleasure in the woman's eyes to know that she was finally pressing his buttons.

John sucked through his front teeth as he decided on an appropriate answer. "He's not my favourite person." He said with careful control over his tone and manner.

She actually smiled then. "I wouldn't imagine otherwise, Colonel. I understand that he is visiting regularly to stay with Torren?"

"Yes." John replied.

"And you are okay with that?"

"He's Torren's father; of course he can spend time with his son." He replied.

"How do you and Kanaan get on?" She asked.

John was pretty sure he and Kanaan hadn't exchanged a single word since he and Teyla had returned. "We get on fine." He said.

She gave him a knowing narrowed eyed smile and he just stared back; he didn't want to talk about this subject. She stayed quiet for a moment before breaking their little challenging stare fight. She drew in a breath as she set her pen down and interlaced her fingers settling her hands in front of her.

"Colonel, I think you know that I'm here to help you."

"Yes. I just don't see how my getting along with Kanaan will influence when I return to work." He responded.

"Fine." She said, using his standard reply. "These are your sessions; what do you want to talk about?"

She surprised him with that and he found he didn't really know what to say to that. He didn't think she would accept that he didn't want to be here, or that they could fill the session with silence, so he would have to come up with something.

"Keller said you assessed Torren." He asked and she nodded. "You have any advice on how to help him?"

Murphy looked surprised at his question and there was a beat before she set aside her clipboard. The rest of the session was filled with discussion on Torren and child development. By the time the session was over and he had been able to escape, though with considerably more knowledge on how to help Torren now, he re-entered their quarters to find that Kanaan was still sitting with Teyla. Charin was snuggled up in Teyla's arms and Torren was happily playing between them; the perfect Athosian portrait once again.

-----  
TBC


	50. Halling 2

**Chapter:** 50 - Halling

-----

If he was honest, and he always strove to be, Halling had not been surprised to learn that Teyla and Sheppard had become more than friends and colleagues. That they had had a child was a surprise, but again he was not as shocked as others in the camp had been when they had learnt the news.

Halling had planned to visit Teyla days ago, but early heavy rainfall on the hills had caused the river to flood and several tents had almost been lost. Halling had worked to re-establish the flood defences and help move the tents, once dried out, to the other end of the camp. He had waved away Kanaan's offers to help, telling him to spend time with Torren and Teyla. Kanaan's clear pain at Teyla's change of heart was clear to Halling, though the man tried to conceal it, and Halling had hoped to encourage them to maintain their friendship through their concern over Torren. So he had held back his visit for a few days, but now it was time.

Halling was thoroughly looking forward to seeing Teyla again, her new child and the magnificent city of the Ancestors once again. But, he had decided to visit Teyla alone without Kanaan. He had only to wait patiently for Kanaan to return from his daily visit to Atlantis. Eventually Halling spotting Kanaan entering the camp again, so he lifted his two bags and headed over to meet him.

"Kanaan, how are things in Atlantis?" He asked as he settled the straps of his bags around himself.

"Everything appears well today. You are planning to visit now?" Kanaan asked his eyes falling to the bags.

"Yes. We completed the last of the flood defences this morning, but if you could look them over for yourself, you have a much better eye." Halling replied.

"Of course. I am sorry that I have been away for most of the past days." Kanaan started. Halling clamped his hand down on the younger man's shoulder.

"Do not concern yourself, Kanaan. We all understand and we wish everything to be well with young Torren."

Kanaan nodded. "He appears to be brighter already. His mother's presence was what we had hoped it would be and he appears to be very curious about his new little sister."

Halling released Kanaan's shoulder. "That is good. When will he stay with us again?"

"I'll bring him back here tomorrow for several days." Kanaan replied.

"We will look forward to that. I will make sure to visit tomorrow if I may? I have missed spending time with him."

"Of course." Kanaan replied.

"I will see you later then perhaps." Halling finished, not wanting to dwell on the fact that he was visiting Teyla without Kanaan. Kanaan knew that Teyla was a very close friend of Halling's and Halling wished to be able to talk with Teyla alone.

Kanaan handed over the Atlantis device to deliver the Athosian IDC. "Here is the device. Mr Woolsey saw fit to supply me with my own now, as I will be visiting so frequently."

Halling took the camp's IDC device from him and smiled. "That was kind of him." They talked briefly on the flood defences and finally Halling moved away, out of the camp towards the portal.

Once there he waited patiently as a group from another camp dialled out and headed through the shimmering blue to their own destination. Once it was his turn Halling stepped up to the dialling device and entered the address for Atlantis. The shimmering surface returned and Halling entered the code into the Atlantis device and waited for the confirmation signal to light up and when it did he strode into the blue water like layer and emerged into the Atlantis Gate room.

Several guards lowered their weapons upon seeing him and he smiled at them, recognising most of them. The portal deactivated behind him and he stood waiting until he saw movement at the top of the stairs as Major Lorne headed down towards him.

"Halling, it is good to see you." Major Lorne greeted him.

"And you, Major Lorne." Halling responded.

"I've let Teyla know you're here, she'll be here in a few minutes."

"Thank you. How have things been here in Atlantis?" He asked.

"Not bad." Lorne replied as he led Halling to one side of the Gate room to wait. "Finding the Colonel and Teyla has been the biggest news around here."

"Yes, thank the Ancestors that they have both been returned to us. I understand your people may return into the pocket of space in which they had been trapped?"

"The IOA is still out on that, but it's possible, though Doctor McKay's readings suggest the pocket is highly unstable and it might put them off going back in."

"I can understand that." Halling replied. "Though it is worrying to think that there maybe others out there among the many stars and galaxies who could befall the same fate and become trapped in the pocket."

Major Lorne nodded. "I agree, though Doctor McKay was able to identify all the readings of the pocket and they think they may have already have located an entrance to the same pocket in our home galaxy."

"Really?"

"It's in a relatively nondescript area with no nearby planetary systems. They're unwilling to go in and check so they're going to station warning beacons around it to warn others. All Earth ships also have the readings so who knows maybe we'll be able to find some of the other entrances in time."

Halling nodded, pleased that at least something was being done to save other potential prisoners of that pocket. If only someone else had done the same earlier and could have saved Teyla and Sheppard their long imprisonment.

"Halling." Her voice drifted to him from down the corridor behind him and he turned, aware that Major Lorne was already moving away. She was walking down the corridor still some distance off, but she quickened her step as he saw her. He headed into the corridor to meet her, emotion filling his heart.

"Teyla." He reached her and wrapped his arms around her. "I am so pleased to see you again." He told her as he hugged her tightly to him. She felt slightly frailer in his arms, but still strong, still Teyla and he would not have been able to tell she had given birth only a week ago unless he was looking for the signs.

She pulled back, her hands grasping his upper arms and she smiled up at him with tears around her wide happy smile. His own tears filled his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers; there had been too many of these reunions over the years, but he cherished each of them.

"You look well, Teyla." He said as they parted and he looked down at her properly. She looked tired, but considering what she had been through and that she had a newborn she looked well.

"I have some healing to do yet, but yes I am well." She told him honestly. Her hands slid down his arms and he grasped her hands in his.

"I prayed everyday, once we knew you were trapped in that pocket, that you would be returned to us."

She smiled, her eyes watering again. "Thank you. I hear you have been taking great care of our people." She added as she pulled gently on his hands before releasing him to wrap one hand around his arm as they walked down the corridor.

"When you are fully recovered you must visit us all, but yes the camp is doing well."

"Kanaan told me that there was some flooding?" She asked as they reached the staircase.

"Indeed, the waters rose early and Meeto's tent was caught in the worst of it." Halling told her, trying not to smile.

Teyla didn't hold back her smile as they made their way down the stairs. "Poor Meeto. I still remember when he fell into the river that time."

"No one will ever let him forget that." Halling replied laughing at the memory himself. "His tent was invaded by heavy rains only a month ago as well."

Teyla laughed. "I should not laugh at our friend so, but he does have the worse luck."

"He does indeed." Halling replied as they reached the right level and proceeded down the hallway. They passed several people who nodded politely and kindly to him and Teyla. It had been a long time since Halling had lived in the city of the Ancestors and though he enjoyed his home now, he did miss the beauty of the city and the closeness of its history. "Meeto never felt entirely comfortable in this city; to be surrounded by so much water." They laughed together as they turned a corner.

Halling still missed Teyla's presence among their people, even despite the years she had been away. In a strange way he realised that he had enjoyed her relationship with Kanaan for then there might be the possibility that she may one day return to live among their people. But, now Halling had to admit to himself that she truly may never return to her people fulltime. Athosians regularly married people from other worlds, but as their former leader she was always expected to always live with her people. Now, in Halling's mind at least, he knew what he had always known; she belonged with these people from Earth she would never return fully.

"I was so pleased to hear your news of Charin." He told her softly.

Her gaze lifted to his with such joy that he had to swallow back his emotion. "She is beautiful, Halling." She whispered.

"I am sure that she is, to be a daughter of yours and Colonel Sheppard's." He watched her blush with amusement. "And I know that Charin would have been deeply honoured by you gifting her name to your first born daughter."

She smiled up at him clearly amused at his comment as well as moved. "You expect more daughters for me?"

Halling looked forward, enjoying his teasing of his friend. "We shall see." He replied. She laughed, bumping her shoulder against his arm and he wrapped an arm around her and hugged her to his side. "It is so good to have you returned to us, Teyla." He repeated. His people had lost so many over the years; to the loss of Old Athos and to the horrors of Michael. Fortune had smiled down on them to return Teyla relatively unscathed.

Teyla angled him towards a door and as they reached it she lowered her hand over the side panel and the doors opened. Torren was sitting on a colourful carpet between soft chairs and he looked up at them and then smiled brightly. Halling was thrilled at the boy's happiness as he ran his way over to them, and ignored Teyla to hug Halling's leg.

"It is good to see you too, young Torren." Halling said as he crouched down to the boy. He already looked happier, brighter and more out going to Halling's eyes. Torren released him and turned to his mother with a giggle of delight; he was certainly improving, it had been many months since Halling had seen the boy smile so widely let alone giggle.

Movement across the room drew Halling's attention and he saw Colonel Sheppard standing to one side, his eyes on Teyla before moving to meet Halling's. The man looked noticeably thinner as Ronon had reported, but he looked well enough, tired perhaps, but it was good to see him. Sheppard smiled, but Halling could see the caution behind it.

"Colonel Sheppard it is good to see you." Halling called out and he saw the tension ease from the other man's shoulders.

"Halling, it's good to see you too." Sheppard reached out a free hand as Halling approached and Halling clasped the man's forearm, feeling the strong tensile musculature under the surface; Sheppard may be thinner, but he was far from weak. "You can call me John you know." Sheppard added.

Halling nodded in acknowledgement to the offered honour, but his attention was distracted down to Sheppard's, John's, other arm. The baby lay contentedly in the blanket and Halling could see her sweet little face as she looked up at him.

"This would be little Charin, then?" Halling asked captivated by the small being, her face an amazing mix of her parents even though she was still so young.

"Yes, this is Charin." John replied. "Do you want to hold her?" Halling couldn't be sure, but he felt that he had been offered a great honour by John with the offer. He had to wonder how many people John allowed hold his precious daughter.

"If I may." Halling replied meeting the man's gaze and John smiled back. Halling moved to set down his two bags but Teyla was immediately at his side taking them for him. He stepped closer to John and they exchanged the baby with clear experienced skill on both their parts.

Halling settled the tiny baby along one forearm and pulled back the blanket from around her face some more so he could look down at her. Her bluish green eyes met his with the intense scrutiny of the young and he smiled down at her. "Hello, Charin. Welcome to the world." He offered the traditional greeting to newborns.

He looked up from the baby to Teyla standing beside him and he smiled. "She is very beautiful, Teyla. Congratulations to you both." He looked at John who nodded in return before stepping back slightly.

"Torren and I thought we would go see what Uncles Ronon and Rodney were up to." John offered, his eyes dropping to where Torren was sitting on the rug. The small boy looked up with interest and stood up, though paused to pick up a toy to take with him.

"Please, sit down, Halling. Would you like some tea?" Teyla offered nudging him towards the soft chairs.

"Please." Halling replied as he sat down with Charin and Torren moved closer to look at the baby.

"You coming, Torren?" John called. Torren looked up with interest, but then looked at Halling with a frown.

"I promise I will still be here when you return." Halling promised the small boy. There was a moment as Torren thought and then he moved away, but paused again this time to wave down to Charin before continuing on towards John.

"You got everything?" John asked Torren, but the question was clearly aimed at Teyla.

She sat down opposite Halling and placed a small table with tea upon it between them. "He does, though he may want a coat if you go outside."

"We'll stay inside today." John replied as Torren reached his side and caught hold of John's extended hand. "You ready then?" Torren nodded clearly that he was indeed ready and John led him to the door, though John paused briefly to look back at Teyla. Halling watched the look pass between the couple and he worked not to smile too much. He had seen that look pass between them many times over the years, but there was a new openness and warmth that pleased him, though he felt a brief moment of regret for Kanaan.

John left with Torren and Teyla turned to the tea between them. "Kanaan was kind enough to bring enough tea to keep me supplied for several weeks." She said as she poured out the steaming liquid. Halling had the impression that she was slightly anxious, as John had been.

"Thank you, Teyla." Halling replied as she set a cup opposite him and poured one for herself. He looked back down at Charin and touched one of her little hands. "She is so small and delicate."

"Yes, she is." Teyla replied. "Though she was much smaller when she was born. She has noticeably grown in only a week."

"She has much to nourish her here." Halling replied as he smiled at Teyla. She met his gaze, but he could see the caution still. "Old friend, you need not be worried about my opinion of your choices; I will always support you." She smiled in return.

"I know." She replied as she sighed. "I apologise."

"There is no need, Teyla. We feel for Kanaan, but there are many of us who were far from surprised to hear of your choice." He indicated the door through which John had just left.

Teyla blushed lightly. "Really?"

"I have eyes, Teyla." He teased her which only made her blush further. She was never one to blush usually, but then she had always been quiet about her close relationships.

"I was concerned that you would disapprove." She admitted.

Halling adjusted Charin slightly in his arms so he could reach out and pick up his tea. He sipped the strong brew well away from Charin as he considered Teyla's comment. "There may have been a day when I feared your affection for Colonel Sheppard, John, might blind you to staying here."

Her eyebrows rose. "You thought John swayed my decision to stay in Atlantis?"

Halling took another sip and placed the cup down on the table again. "Was it not your clear trust in him that drew you here?"

She tilted her head as she considered his words. "I admit we have always trusted each other from our first meeting, but I assure you I have never allowed personal interests to cloud my judgements for our people."

Halling smiled; she had not changed at all. "No, you would not, but I saw the connection between you from the start and I am not surprised that you two have finally begun to explore the depth of your feelings for one another. Though…" He lifted Charin slightly. "I had not anticipated it quite so quickly."

Teyla laughed lightly. "Remember, old friend, that John and I were away for a year and a half from our perspective."

He nodded, knowing she knew he was teasing her. "Of course." He replied.

She smiled and reached for her own tea, her smile slipping. "Kanaan is alright?"

Halling nodded. "Yes. It is little Torren that we have been worrying about."

Teyla looked towards the closed door. "Yes, Kanaan told me."

"He seems much improved already, Teyla." Halling informed her quickly. "I had not seen him smile so for a very long time."

Teyla looked back to him her expression hopeful and happy. "Truly?"

"I would not lie to you, old friend." He replied.

She smiled again, nodding to him as she lifted her cup and sipped more tea.

Halling turned to his bags that sat near his chair. "I have brought the last of your things and I have some other items for you." Teyla set down her cup and reached for the bag he offered to her over the table, working not to disrupt Charin in his arm. "These are gifts from those in the camp."

Teyla looked surprised as she settled the bag on her lap. "For me?"

"And for Charin. Everyone was delighted to hear your good news."

She smiled tightly. "I had feared they would also judge me harshly for my rejection of Kanaan."

Halling sat back a little in his chair to sit more comfortably and he adjusted Charin in his arms, bouncing her lightly. "Everyone understands the twists and turns of life, Teyla."

She sat still, her hands resting over the bag of gifts. "I feared that they would think I had abandoned my people further by rejecting Kanaan and choosing a man not of our people, of our galaxy." She told him honestly.

"Teyla, our people have missed you and have worried for you; that is all. You have made your decisions and you should be proud of them and of yourself. You have achieved much in your time with these people from Earth and John is a good man. Our people know that, and they respect him and his people. Any judgements they may make are concerning losing your presence among us."

He watched her take in his words. "We have always loved you, Teyla. That will not change, even if you were to change your mind again." He added.

She smiled at that, blinking some tears away.

"Though I suspect that will not be the case." Halling added with a smile.

She laughed. "No, I pray not." She met his gaze. "I do love John, Halling. Very much."

"I know that you do." Halling replied. He looked back down at Teyla and John's daughter and she looked up at him apparently fascinated in simply looking up at him. He smiled and tickled her chin and a tiny smile formed briefly. "I hope that you will bring Charin to meet our people, they will be thrilled by her beauty."

Teyla smiled, the look implying she thought his comment exaggeration, but as she set about opening the bag of her gifts, Halling looked down at her daughter and knew there was no exaggeration required. Charin was beautiful and even if she weren't physically though she was, she would be due to who she was; of her people, those from Earth and of Athos.

-----  
TBC


	51. Ronon 4

**Chapter:** 51 - Ronon

-----

Ronon circled around the room, spinning the handle of his weapon in his hand as he regarded his opponent. Sheppard circled opposite him, his eyes focused, intent; the two small weapons held ready in his hands, his body posed ready to strike when Ronon made his move.

Ronon had always enjoyed sparring with Sheppard, but the sessions had rarely tested his own skills. Any training was good training, as his teachers had drilled into him, but over the many years Ronon had found few who could match him in skill. Teyla was the only one in the city who had truly challenged him, but Ronon still found value in all of those he sparred against. Everyone fought slightly differently, their own innate way of moving, of reacting, was unique and therefore good experience to spar against to keep Ronon's skills fresh.

His sparring sessions against Sheppard had been fun in that they were more relaxing and amusing than skill developing. He had known he was improving Sheppard's skills and Ronon gained from the amusement in repeatedly knocking his friend from his feet in a wide variety of ways. On his part Sheppard never really seemed to take those hits to heart, though he did complain constantly which was part of the fun and amusement between them. It was a game and a challenge all in one for them, though the challenge part of it was mainly Sheppard's.

That had now changed.

Ronon could still remember their first sparring session after Sheppard had returned. Ronon had decided to hold back a little more than normal with his friend; after all he had been through a lot and he hardly needed violent attacks to help him relax. So, Ronon had kept his moves as slow as he could allow himself and he telegraphed his attacks enough to feel that Sheppard would never miss anything and get hit.

It had been about half way through that session when Ronon had realised that Sheppard had been taking it easy on him as well. Ronon had struck out a little more forcefully than intended, but Sheppard had intercepted, deflecting the straight attack and he had stepped forward towards Ronon, his free hand lifting. Ronon hadn't missed the subtle way Sheppard had held that free hand, how he had twisted his wrist in such a way that, had there been a blade in his hand, would have been poised for a kill shot.

Ronon had stood back from his friend then and had reassessed him. He had studied Sheppard differently, past the slight nervousness to the potential beneath. Sheppard had stood differently from before, had held his body poised ready to attack rather than defend and his free hand had been partly loaded ready to attack. Ronon had realised that Sheppard was used to using two small weapons rather than the one sword like dull weapon they used for training.

So Ronon had struck out more violently at Sheppard, tested his skills and Ronon had been shocked at the nimble, quick response. Again Sheppard stood back before he followed through with his responding attack, which Ronon had recognised would have been brutal in its application. He had smiled at his friend; Sheppard had developed some serious new skills. Sheppard's skills had always been based on his quickness and his heavy right hook, but now that speed and trained hand to hand combat skills had been purified into something far more lethal and fast. Ronon had been seriously impressed and he wasn't often impressed by anything.

But, he had also seen the caution in Sheppard's eyes. Ronon had known why; he knew the worry that such violent skill could bring up. For that skill felt powerful and animalistic, but it was natural and should be maintained. He had told Sheppard that, making him see that Ronon understood the wildness inside the man. Ronon too had lived a life immersed almost purely in violence and self protection. It was a life that developed skills that were brutal, quick and as unforgiving they were beautiful. That primitive skill, drive and power was useful though, it could burn out anger, frustration and could be used to protect others. He had reminded Sheppard of that, told him not to fear it. And Ronon wanted to spar on that level with someone else.

So, they had begun sparring with fewer rules, less withholding and more speed. Ronon had seriously begun to love the sessions, for he was learning as he fought. This Sheppard was far more developed martially than before and he tested Ronon's skills. They had begun to get more competitive, but it was at its heart still light hearted. Over a meal in the first week they had decided on an ongoing scoring system, at which Ronon was currently still ahead, though not by much. Sheppard had traded in the long weapon for two short, knife-like dulled weapons and with those he was far more skilled and challenging.

Yet, as much as Ronon was enjoying the sessions as the weeks passed he had begun to see the building tension in his friend. At first he had thought it simply a reaction to letting loose his violent skills during sparring, but it was clear that Sheppard was always happier at the end of the sessions; seeming more relaxed and the tiredness seemed to help him. It had since become clear that he was using the sparring as a way of burning off tension and frustration. Ronon had no problem with that, he understood that, but he was beginning to worry for his friend.

He didn't usually think into other people's problems too much; after all it wasn't his business and he didn't usually care. But, Sheppard was his best friend here, more like a brother even, and Ronon found he couldn't ignore what was happening. He had tried to ask him about it, but all he could manage to ask was "You okay?" to which the response was always "I'm fine", and it wasn't in Ronon's nature to push any more than that.

He had considered talking to Teyla about it, but he felt like he might be going behind his friend's back too much. And besides what if Sheppard's problem was in his relationship with Teyla? Ronon wouldn't really be helping then. But, when he saw them together he didn't see any signs that they were in trouble. So, in the end Ronon had mentioned it to Carson who had said he had noticed the same. Carson had encouraged Ronon to question Sheppard during their sparring sessions. Ronon had no idea how to go about that, but here he was three quarters of an hour into the latest match and he still hadn't worked out how to ask Sheppard what was bothering him.

Sheppard paused in their circling of each other and signalled for a break, to which Ronon nodded, relaxing himself. Sheppard walked over to the bench and wiped his towel over his face as he stretched his back. Ronon watched his friend and tried to think up a clever subtle way to ask the question, trying to think how Carson or Teyla would approach it.

Sheppard looked round as he lowered his towel and wiped his hands. "What's up?"

Ronon almost laughed at the question. "Actually that was going to be my question." He confessed with a smile.

Sheppard frowned at him and turned back to his towel, folding it up neatly in a clear distraction technique. "I'm fine. Just tired." The renewed tension to his shoulders said otherwise in Ronon's opinion.

Ronon decided to stick with what he knew so he just glared silently at Sheppard.

Sheppard sighed as he dropped his towel and reached for his water bottle, sipping from it for a moment before closing it up again. "Just a little annoyed that's all." He finally confessed.

"At?" Ronon poked.

Sheppard smirked as he looked round. "Who do you think?"

There was one main suspect in Ronon's mind. "Kanaan?"

Sheppard just shrugged in reply.

Ronon moved closer, using his weapon as a staff as he walked across the empty gym. "I noticed he's here most days." He said carefully.

"Yep."

Ronon contemplated his friend; was he really worried about Teyla's loyalty? Ronon hadn't seen Kanaan and Sheppard in the same room together since Teyla's reunion day with Torren, so he had no idea if the unspoken resentment and hostility between the two men had intensified.

"He up to something?" Ronon asked.

Sheppard sighed and picked up his weapons as he reached for his towel again and began wiping down the handles of his weapons. "Nothing more than sweet talking Teyla."

Ronon frowned. "You think his moving in on Teyla?" He asked seriously. He hadn't thought Kanaan would be like that.

There was a long pause before Sheppard looked back up at him. "Some might say I did that to him; sweet talked Teyla away from him." He added with a dark smile as he tossed his towel down on the bench with excessive force.

Finally Ronon understood and he felt relief at the knowledge; Sheppard was nervous Teyla was going to change her mind and maybe he was feeling a bit guilty in regards to Kanaan. Ronon had no doubt that Teyla loved Sheppard and there was no way she was going to change her mind, but clearly Sheppard wasn't as sure.

"You and Teyla okay?" He asked bluntly.

"I'm pretty sure I'm pissing her off." Sheppard replied with a dry tone.

Ronon grunted in reply. They had been back almost four weeks since their return and Ronon had no doubt that Teyla was well aware of Sheppard's growing tension and anxiety. What was strange was that she hadn't said anything yet. Ronon had always thought that Teyla was more direct than that; though on second thoughts Ronon realised she never had been direct with Sheppard in the past. She had never told him how she felt and had moved on to another man rather than address it head on. Sheppard had done the same; avoid and retreat, though he had clearly always liked Teyla.

"You need to talk to Teyla." Ronon told him plainly.

Sheppard shrugged in a way that said that he knew he should, but wasn't too keen.

Ronon reached out and grasped his friend's shoulder, noticing briefly how much more muscle mass the man had put back on. He looked better physically; he just needed to get his head sorted out.

"Talk to her." He said again, as he gently shook Sheppard's shoulder encouragingly before pulling back. "Unless you want me to keep on stealing all the points?" He goaded as he walked backwards towards the fighting area.

Sheppard narrowed his gaze as he grasped his weapons and followed Ronon back towards the centre of the gym. "Last time I looked I was only a few points behind you."

"Still behind." Ronon replied just before Sheppard began his attack and they headed back into trading fast hits; Sheppard weaving under and around his attacking strikes.

-----  
TBC


	52. Teyla 15

**Chapter:** 52 - Teyla

-----

Torren sat happily on the rug as he worked to unpack his bag that Teyla had packed ready for him to return to the Athosian camp for the next few days. She smiled down at him as he worked to reach something that was at the very bottom of the bag, but he had yet to realise he would need to completely empty the bag to pull it out.

Kanaan spoke of the approaching plans for the summer festival and how he wished her and Torren to attend. Teyla suspected there was slightly more to his invitation than he had admitted, but she did not pursue it. She had agreed to attend, though the festival was still some time away.

She returned her attention to Torren as he pulled one of his books out from the top of his bag. Kanaan could not read the Earth language, though he was learning, but the pictures made it clear what the objects named were. Torren had yet to start speaking properly, though when pushed and the same word was repeated many times to him he would finally offer a whispered version of the word. Teyla had been making a great fuss of him when he did that, but it had yet to inspire him to talk properly. She had seen him shaping his mouth to make words quite frequently though, so she knew he was capable.

Doctor Murphy had been very helpful, but she had recently suggested that they de-emphasise pushing Torren to talk and instead let him want to talk to them. Teyla wasn't too sure of that, but she would try anything. So, she had stopped asking him to repeat words and instead just read words out to him from his books and named everything around them as they moved around the quarters and the city. She had even started to ignore some of his 'look at me' noises, as Doctor Murphy had suggested, in the hope that he would start using words to get their attention. It hadn't worked yet, as Torren had simply walked up to her and touched her directly to get her attention. She had tried not to laugh at her son's direct approach; he would walk across the entire room to get her attention and stare up at her with his wide dark eyes that seemed to say 'did you not hear me?'.

She had begun to worry less about him as it was clear that he was improving and was a happy boy most of the time. He seemed to enjoy just sitting quietly and though it may have been worrying before when he was sad, now he seemed to simply be happy like that. He seemed to enjoy sitting near Charin and would often show her his toys and point at things for her. Charin would stare up at him from her new reclining chair in fascination and appeared quite taken with her brother. Though it was clear that she was, how did Rodney put it? She was a Daddy's little girl. She and John had a very clear bond and though Charin was happy and contented with Teyla, the girl seemed to smile most when John was holding her. The affection was very much reciprocated on John's part. Teyla enjoyed simply sitting and watching him walk around their quarters with Charin in one arm as he chatted away to her. He seemed most relaxed and happy in those times.

John had begun to worry her, for apart from those times with Charin, he seemed tense. At first she had put it down to tiredness, for she did not think he had had a full night's sleep in the past month since they had returned. Not that she could be sure for he was always awake when she woke, except for the half a minute in the night when she woke to Charin's cries before him. In those times his arm would always be around her, his hand on her leg, hip or even wrapped around her waist as he slept. He was always awake in the mornings when she woke, and now that he had returned to work on light duties he was awake even earlier in the mornings. And in the night she always fell asleep before him. He looked tired she thought and she had tried to talk to him about it.

He had confessed that he had had some nightmares, to which she admitted the same. In her main nightmare she was still trapped in the ship on the planet. There were hunters tracking her through the dark ship and she couldn't find anyone to help her; John was missing and sometimes Charin was with her or otherwise Teyla could just hear her distant cries of distress. She always woke from those dreams terrified until reality resettled and she knew once again that they were all safe. John had confessed he had a similar nightmare, but had given no further details. That discussion had not helped relieve any of his tension though. She had tried for one week to stay awake longer at night and after feeding Charin in the middle of the night to watch him fall asleep, but she always fell asleep first. So, she had given up, trusting him to visit Carson or Jennifer if he was having problems falling asleep.

But the tension had continued and with it a sense of distance was growing which worried her. There were times, especially when they were alone together when everything seemed fine, but at other times she felt like he was withholding from her. She had then begun to wonder if it was perhaps sexual frustration as she was still rather sore and had a few more weeks until she would have the all clear from the doctors. He didn't push anything, but every morning she felt his hard manhood against her backside when she woke. His touch lingered over her skin in bed, his desire for her clear, but he never pushed. She had tried to talk about it with him, but he always shrugged it off and said he was happy to wait, but she knew he was getting frustrated.

That frustration had perhaps been made worse after an incident last week. She had had an afternoon all to herself as Carson had been babysitting Charin and Torren had been back with Kanaan. So she had drawn herself a bath, filled with a beautifully scented herbal mix that had been a gift from her people, added to the bath water. The scents from dried flowers helped one to relax while the herbs nourished the skin and assisted healing. She had lain in the hot water and had deeply relaxed, thoroughly enjoying some peaceful time to herself. After some time she had heard the door to the quarters open outside the open bathroom door and had heard John call out to her. She had called him in without thinking only for him to halt in the doorway; his eyes wide as he had looked down at her before he had turned and left, muttering about bubbles. She had guessed the lack of bubbles to her bath had not helped his frustration. She had found it funny though and had teased him about it later, which he had taken with good humour. His desire for her pleased her, though she regretted having unintentionally teased him with her bath. She had been careful to cover up more around him, not wanting to make the situation worse. Yet, his tension continued.

Whenever she woke in bed his arm was always tightly around her, holding her to him. She had always enjoyed that closeness on the planet and for the first week back in Atlantis, but now they had acclimatised to the usual room temperature she sometimes found the bed a little warm in the night and his body heat sometimes was uncomfortable so close. She wanted just a little distance, not that she didn't want to be touching him still as they slept, but he seemed to want her pressed right up against him still. She had tried to edge away whilst he was dozing, but he would wake fully, immediately alert asking what was wrong. It was a reaction born of their experiences on the planet which she understood, so she would pretend she was heading to the bathroom so as not to embarrass him. She did not like the thought of telling him she wanted a little space in bed, for she didn't want him to emotionally pull away any further and a comment like that he could take the wrong way. She told herself he was still adjusting and to be patient.

However at almost four weeks her patience had been growing a little strained. The greatest threat to her patience was that she had not missed the fact that John always managed to be present when Kanaan was visiting. During the first couple of weeks she hadn't really worried about it, for they had only just returned and he was obviously protective of her and Charin. But, once he had returned to duty he still somehow managed to always be there when Kanaan visited. She had to wonder how he managed that with his work. She had remained patient about it, for he always had some excuse, and she did not want to make an issue out of it. John never interrupted their discussions or joined in; instead he would always find something to be busy doing in the background. She wondered if he saved up his paperwork for those times so he had something to do.

By the fourth week she had begun to take it personally. Did he think her so untrustworthy? Did he doubt her loyalty so? Kanaan had clearly noticed as well, though he never said anything and that only managed to make Teyla feel more embarrassed about the situation. She had tried distracting John with asking him to run some errands for her, but he would only say he had work to do or he would leave only to return in record time having completed the errand. It had also seemed to annoy him, so she had stopped using that tactic.

She had kept her patience though, for he would relax and everything would be alright. And it looked as if her patience had finally paid off, for today was the first day that Kanaan was here in their quarters and John was not present. Teyla had been truly pleased to realise that, though had at first she had been concerned that that meant something worrying was occurring out in the city. She had listened briefly to the radio chatter as she had prepared the pot of tea and had relaxed as nothing was occurring; John had finally given up his warden duty and she was pleased. That she had noticed Kanaan looking around a little unnerved looking for John had not helped though. But, she had sat down with him and Torren and acted as if nothing had changed.

And now they sat having had some tea and Torren having removed everything from his bag to finally reach what he had sought at the bottom, which had turned out to be another book.

The doors slid open and John appeared in the doorway, appearing a little out of breath. "Oh, hi." He said as he moved into the room.

Teyla felt her anger rising; he had clearly rushed here with what looked like a file under his arm – most likely his excuse to use to stay in the room. "John?" She had asked.

The doors had shut behind him as he moved off towards his computer desk. "I've just got some paperwork to read through and then I'm done for the day." He offered as he dropped his one thin file onto his desk and turned, looking past her towards Charin's crib. Charin was with Jennifer, but he didn't know that as Jennifer had offered only an hour ago.

Teyla returned her attention to Kanaan, feeling embarrassed and angry, though she tried to hide both. Kanaan knelt down beside Torren. "We need to get going anyway." He offered and Teyla felt the slight heat to her cheeks. "Let us put all this back in the bag, Torren." Kanaan said as he began returning all the items to Torren's bag. Torren grumbled at that and began crying in protest.

Teyla helped pack the bag quickly as she kept a tight lid on her growing temper. Kanaan lifted the crying Torren up into his arms. "Say goodbye to your Mother, Torren." Kanaan said kindly and Teyla realised that he already knew she would not be accompanying them to the Gate room. She had to wonder if John would follow if she did.

"Goodbye, Torren. I will see you tomorrow." Teyla promised him, though he was still crying. Kanaan bounced him in his arm as they headed to the door. Teyla followed them and reached up to kiss Torren. He paused in his tears to kiss her, but once he was away he began to cry again. Kanaan paused outside in the corridor for Torren to wave goodbye, which he did before returning to his grizzling.

The doors shut and Teyla took a breath before turning back to John.

"Where's Charin?" He asked from beside his desk, not appearing all that interested in his paperwork.

Teyla crossed her arms. "She is with Jennifer. She offered to babysit for a few hours. Why are you here?" She demanded.

He looked at her and she saw the caution in his eyes. "I told you I ended my shift early. I can do the paperwork here." He turned back towards the desk.

"And that is not because Kanaan was here?" She asked.

"I'm on light duties still and have mostly paperwork." He replied as stood by his desk.

She lifted an eyebrow at him.

"These are my quarters too, Teyla. I can be here if I want to be." He responded with the rest challenging tone she had heard from him in awhile. Abruptly she realised she really wanted this argument. She wanted to get this out now.

"I think you are here because Kanaan was here. You are always here when he visits." She told him plainly.

He turned fully towards her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, he's here a lot."

She had known that had been bothering him. "You agreed it was a good idea for Torren for both Kanaan and I to be around him together, so that he knows we are both here for him. So he feels secure." She said patiently.

"Four weeks ago maybe." John replied. "Torren looks pretty secure to me now."

"Doctor Murphy agreed it is good for him to be with both of us regularly." She stated.

"Everyday?" He argued back.

"He is not here everyday, John." She replied.

"Most days he is. Perhaps we should offer him some quarters next door so he can be close by in case Torren needs him." He had emphasised Torren's name just enough for her to think he meant her instead of Torren. She bit the inside of her lip to hold back her anger.

"You think I want him here rather than just for Torren's sake?" She asked.

John shrugged at that, his arms still tightly crossed over his chest.

"How can you say that?" She asked shocked. "You honestly believe that I still have feelings for him?" She asked.

"Do you?" He asked plainly and she was shocked as much by how frank he was being as by his question.

"Of course not!" She protested. He looked at her, his tongue pressing through his lip as he thought. "You think I want him still? What do you think is going to happen? That I will change my mind and have my way with Kanaan on the rug while you are out?"

She saw him bite back a retort; literally saw him bite on his lip, but he rocked his weight back and didn't reply.

"Is that really what you think?" She demanded moving closer to him. She could not believe that he would think so little of her, that he would distrust her like this. She turned from him and headed over to the remaining toys that Torren had left in the seating area.

"I do not wish to discuss this any further with you." She said as she reached down for the toys. "I can not believe you would think that."

He reached her side without her having heard a single footfall and his hand closed round her upper arm, the grip nowhere near tight, but it caught her attention and she looked up at him sharply.

"You changed your mind before." He said as he looked down at her and she could see in his eyes all the emotions he had been hiding; anger, worry, fear and heat.

She looked up at him shocked at the intensity of the emotion emanating from him.

"You were with him before we got pulled into that pocket, Teyla." He added, his eyes moving from one of her eyes to the other, scrutinising her expression.

She pulled her upper arm from his grasp and turned directly towards him, her anger once again flaring. "That was a long time ago, John." She stated. "How can you doubt my feelings after what we went through together?"

"Exactly, Teyla. We were thrown together and you didn't have him around anymore." John replied, stepping closer right into her personal space. He was angry, but she didn't feel threatened; she knew he would never hurt her, which only allowed her to feel angrier towards him at his distrust and doubt in her.

"You think I chose you out of convenience?" She asked stunned as she moved to step back from him wanting distance from him now.

He reached for her again, capturing her shoulders in his hands, turning her back towards him. "If we hadn't been stuck in that damn pocket you never would have given him up for me."

"Of course I would have!" She almost shouted at him. "But, you never told me how you felt. You never ever indicated to me that you wanted me."

"You were in love with another man." John protested.

Teyla twisted her shoulders to pull herself out of his grasp again. "I was never in love with him. And I never could have loved him like I love you." She told him, her voice loud and almost tearful with her passionate confession.

He froze, staring at her, his expression a strange mixture of shock, disbelief and something softer. She held her ground as she stared up at him, her breathing fast as her heart pounded in her chest.

"Why?" He asked.

She frowned at his question; was he asking why she could love him or why her love for him was different to what she could feel for another. She wondered if he knew which he had asked.

"Because you overwhelm me, John. You always have." She admitted looking down from his eyes for a moment to his chest. He was breathing fast as well she noticed and she knew that if she pressed her palm to his chest she would be able to feel his heart pounding like hers. He had always drawn her, fascinated her and his passion when they made love made her feel like she was all he could ever want, that he lost himself as much as she did in those moments together.

He took a shuddering breath and she realised she had spoken those thoughts out loud to him and she lifted her eyes to meet his again and she saw the heat in them.

He stepped into her, his mouth descending on hers in a wild rush and she wrapped her arms around him as he pulled her up against him. He pressed his lips to hers, forcing hers apart though she willingly opened them under his assault. His body was hot and solid against her as he lifted her up and then the Athosian rug was under her back and he was laying down over her. He licked into her mouth, hungry and possessive like he had been in those first months in the camp before they had learnt of her pregnancy. He had kissed her like this on those dark nights shut away from the camp, as the noises and threats lingered just outside their door. He had touched her rapidly, roughly claiming her as she had scratched his back and hips in ecstasy as he had thrust into her. She had wrapped him in her body, gloried in his body and his passion for her. Now, he kissed her like that again and she realised how much she had missed that level of need between them.

He nudged her legs apart with his as he pressed down over her and she lifted her legs to cradle him between them. He rested his body fully down over hers for her first time in a long time and she felt the rock hardness of him against her core. He rocked against her briefly before he pulled his hips back from hers and he broke their kiss. She panted for breath as he buried his nose into the side of her throat and she wrapped her arms around his back holding him to her. He took a deep breath, flattening her breasts against him, and he released it against the skin of her neck.

She ran one hand up his back, caressing his neck and up into his hair. She released a breath of her own, releasing all manner of tensions she hadn't realised she had been holding. She had missed holding him like this, feeling him fully against her openly. She hadn't realised how much they had been holding back from each other, despite how close they had seemed to be. It wasn't just the sexual component, it was their connection now that she hadn't felt so strongly since they had been together fighting against the hunters in that last battle. Somehow they had lost the depth of their connection, lost it in the rescue, the return to 'normal life' and in dealing with everyone else. She would not let it go again.

He was relaxed in her arms, though he rested his groin away from hers. For a moment she considered making love with him, but she wasn't ready and she knew there was more here than simply having missed each other sexually. She slid her fingers from his hair down to caress the back of his neck again.

"Have you been worrying about that all this time?" She asked him softly as she rubbed her cheek against him.

He let out a breath that was part chuckle, part sigh. "I'm sorry." He admitted against her skin.

"I am sorry as well." She told him. "I should have realised that having Kanaan here so much would bother you. I was too focused on Torren and trying to keep my friendship with Kanaan stable for him." She admitted feeling a little ashamed at herself for not having being considerate enough towards John's feelings.

"He's your son." John muttered against her.

"But, you are important to me as well. I should have…" She took a deep breath of her own and acknowledged to herself that she really had been carrying tensions of her own these past weeks. "I have been so worried about him, felt so guilty. I have been trying to make sure everything was alright, that life could return to normal for him." She felt tears in her eyes. "And after all we went through… I wanted to move on and put it behind us."

He lifted part of his weight up onto his forearms, lifting his upper body from hers to look down at her. She met his darkened eyes and saw in them the same haunted expression that echoed her own. She realised she had never really cried about all they had experienced on that planet, that she had never properly felt the grief of Violet Eyes' death. She had gone through the rituals of remembrance, had given prayers of thanks for her and John's safe return to Atlantis, but they had been hollow. She had been simply going through the motions and had not stopped to really acknowledge it all and how much it had all affected her.

She stroked her fingers down John's cheeks to his chin. "I almost lost you so many times. Almost lost Charin." She said finally admitting out loud the fears that haunted her in her nightmares.

She could feel her tears rolling down her cheeks. She had been complaining to herself that she had been getting emotional, but she had never really allowed herself to feel those moments deeply. For she feared she might lose herself in that wave of intense emotion, that she might drown in her own sobs for what she and John had had to live through.

"It's alright." John whispered to her as the tears flooded her eyes, blinding her for a moment. His thumbs slid over her cheeks, drying the tracks of her tears. "We made it through it all and we're stronger for it." He told her softly. She nodded as she blinked her tears away, her vision clearing once again.

"We are." She replied as she stroked over his cheeks again, feeling the stubble just over the surface of his jaw. "I am sorry about Kanaan." She whispered again.

"I should have said something or given you two some space" He replied. "I just…couldn't stop worrying that he was going to win you back somehow." He admitted his expression pained. "I guess I felt that my luck wouldn't hold; that you would wake up and realise that you could have him again." He whispered.

She smiled up at him softly. "If I had known I could have you; the last few years would have been very different."

He smiled at that, lifting up further onto his elbows. "Oh?" He asked.

She smiled in return, though her smile slipped into seriousness again as she ran her fingertips down one side of his jaw again, her attention drawn to his full lips. "I told you I loved you, but I should have said it more often." She whispered seriously.

"We both should have." He replied as softly in return. "We were quite busy though." He added with a smile, those full lips wide and promising.

She felt the weight of the conversation lift and it left her feeling lighter and happier than she had been in a long time. "Yes, we were very busy." She replied.

He leant down over her again, his lips reaching towards hers and she smiled again as she closed her eyes and met his kiss. This kiss was slower, holding more of the softer feelings they shared, but she could still feel the edge of his need in it. The kiss continued, slow and deep and she lost herself in it, let herself simply feel their connection again, their chemistry.

He pulled back from her lips with a straggled sigh and she couldn't help smiling at his obvious discomfort. His body was tense under her hands, but she knew it was not due to the argument anymore; it was purely due to his arousal.

"Okay, that's enough for now." He told her with a strained smile as he lifted himself further up off her body.

She grinned up at him as she let him sit up away from her, his body slipping away from between her arms and legs. "It is?" She asked innocently.

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TBC


	53. John 15

**Chapter:** 53 - John

**Gentle Reminder - Rating**: M

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"It is?" She asked him as he sat up from her and there was enough flirtatiousness in her voice for him to almost change his mind.

His eyes dropped down from her eyes to the shape of her nipples through her top and down to her almost entirely flat stomach. He reached out and stroked his hand over her belly lightly. He could hardly believe she had given birth a month ago. She had been steadfastly working out everyday, which he had enjoyed watching when he was in their quarters. As well as her usual training katas she had some form of yoga like postures that he hadn't seen her use before and she was able to hold them for longer each day. Her body had fleshed out into a more healthy shape and her pregnant belly was almost gone. But, he knew she was still not fully recovered and especially not inside where it mattered. As much as he would love to settle back down over her and explore how far they could push their restraint he didn't.

He smiled as he lifted his hand from her stomach. "Don't tempt me." He said with a wink as he climbed to his feet, his body awkwardly responding.

His heart was still hammering away in his chest from the heady mixture of adrenaline from their argument, thrill at all she had confessed and at the need still coursing through his body as he watched her sit up. He was shocked at himself for having gotten so angry at her in their argument, at having pushed her into the argument; he was usually one to avoid such scenes. She looked up at him with a warm soft expression, her eyes slipping down his body to where his arousal would be clearly obvious.

"Teyla!" He protested as he stepped away from her. She was far too tempting at the moment, after all she had said, after how she had responded to his kiss.

She smiled up at him again, trying to appear innocent.

He moved further away. "I'm gonna go have a really cold shower."

John thought she looked a little disappointed, but he smiled at her and headed towards the bathroom door. He needed a little distance right now. The bathroom door shut behind him and he opened the shower compartment and began to pull off his clothes in quick impatient moves.

She had cried and had confessed how scared she had really been to almost lose him and Charin back on that planet. The tall spires of Violet Eyes' ship returned to his mind. He had been so focused on fretting over Kanaan's presence that he hadn't really allowed himself to acknowledge all that had happened. He had lost himself in fearing that Teyla wouldn't want him anymore. Perhaps because if she didn't all that they had lived, survived through, wouldn't have been worth it. He had been thinking of all their hot sweaty nights whilst living in the tent; seeking to prove to him self that she did care for him, that she wanted him for more than simply comfort and protection against the threats they had been surrounded by everyday.

He sighed as he moved towards the shower, but he paused; he didn't want cold water pounding over his body right now, only one area really needed that treatment. He turned to the triangular shaped bath in the corner and decided a quick cold wash would be enough. He set the plug and climbed into the tub, crouching down in the Ancient bath. He leant one elbow on one side and rested his forehead into his palm. His body ached with desire, but he knew it was mixed with relief and adrenaline from the argument. He felt a little weak now, like he had been powering himself all this time with his fretting over Kanaan. All those nights that he had lain awake with Teyla asleep in his arms were all making themselves felt. He had been an idiot he decided; he trusted Teyla and he should have known she wasn't going to change her mind. But, that was always his way with personal matters; to step back and away and let things fall apart. He had almost done the same here.

He opened his eyes and looked down at the end of the bath only to realise that he hadn't started the water; he was sitting in an empty bath. He sent a thought out towards the Ancient taps, but nothing happened; his subconscious was against the whole cold water idea, he had the same problem some mornings when he just wanted to go back to bed. So, he reached out and activated the controls physically and the water began to flow down into the bath, pooling around the plug. He shivered at the whole idea, but he needed something to cool himself down.

The bathroom door slid open and he looked round as Teyla entered. She looked surprised not to see him in the shower he thought and she looked round at the sound of the running water. He smiled at her as she lifted her eyebrows in a silent question and he turned back to the taps as the first edge of the cold water reached his skin. Teyla's hand entered his view as she reached in and turned off the tap, then reached down and pulled out the plug, the small pool of water quickly draining away.

John looked up at her questioningly, only to watch her move closer, hitch up her trousers slightly and she lifted one leg up over the side of the bath. He automatically reached out to steady her as she stepped into the bath beside him. He noticed she was barefooted as she stepped into the bath. He opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but she crouched down in the bath next to him, her front towards his side, her back against the opposite side of the bath against which he was leaning. He moved to turn towards her, but she stopped him as she leant herself against his shoulder and slid her arms around him; one hand sliding over his shoulders and the other slid across his collarbones, catching briefly in his dog tags that he had forgotten to remove.

She pressed her front against his arm and hip and her warmth poured into him, her touch over his naked skin adding to the pooling of blood in his groin. He turned his head towards her and opened his mouth to speak to her again, but her dampened hand from pulling out the plug slid down his chest. His breath caught in anticipation.

"You don't have to do this." He managed to whisper to her.

She smiled at him as her hand circled down his stomach, his muscles twitching at her sliding touch. She leant in even closer to him, her lips sliding past him mouth, to nuzzle his cheek.

"We take care of each other, John. It is what we do." She said.

He smiled at the comment, so close to something he had said not so long ago to Murphy.

He nuzzled at Teyla's cheek in return. "You don't need to take care of me." He whispered.

Her fingers reached his erection and his whole body jerked in response and he let out a small involuntary groan. Her cool fingers danced lightly along his length, only building the tension further and he turned his lips away from her cheek to let out a straggled breath. He felt her smile against his cheek as her hand finally surrounded him and he groaned again.

"Of course I do, John." She whispered to him as she slid her lips from his cheek to his ear. Her hand lying over his back caressed across the top of his shoulders, up his neck and into his hair. He tipped his head back slightly enjoying her fingers massaging his scalp. "Just relax, John." She breathed right into his ear and he chuckled, though it actually sounded more like another groan as she quickened her hand over him.

The lure of true satisfaction ahead from her hand, from her body almost wrapped around him was almost enough to make him do as she asked, but the tightly wound tension in him from his arousal and not wanting this to end made him hold back. He turned his mouth to hers again, capturing her lips in his and he drove his tongue into her mouth, wrapping his closest arm to her back and around her, pulling her flat against his side. She murmured into his mouth in a way that made him growl in response. She broke her lips away from him and licked across his cheek again.

"Relax, John." She whispered again, her breathy voice nearing his ear. Her tone was as smooth as her hand sliding over him, though his own body wanted nothing more than to jerk through her touch, to find the satisfaction that he had been missing so much with her. He groaned as she squeezed him slightly more as she licked his earlobe into her hot mouth. "Let me take care of you for a change, John." She breathed into his ear again, sending tingles of pleasure down his throat. Her free hand caressed down from his hair, making her way down his back.

He opened his eyes, that had been tightly closed, and looked round at her feeling both highly aroused and mellow under her touch. She was so beautiful, her golden skin so tempting where it disappeared into her top. She had been covering up more lately and he had so feared she was loosing interest in him, but in truth he guessed it had been so as not to tempt him. She needed only to breathe and he was tempted. He leant away from the side of the bath tub and reached across his body, over her moving arm, to stroke down her throat to the neckline of her top. The material was soft, not strongly shaped, so he pulled on the neck line and revealed her bra beneath. She arched her back encouraging the material away from her and he pulled part of the bra down to reveal one breast. He cupped it a little more roughly than he had intended, but it had been so long since he had felt he could touch her this way. She groaned and he looked up to her eyes, checking he was not hurting her. Her lips formed a wide smile as she rubbed herself further into his hand and he returned his attention to her full breast, gently caressing around her nipple.

She began to stroke him more forcefully, the pressure building in his belly he moved to lean back against the other side of the bath, but she pulled him back towards her, with her arm around his back. So, he rested back towards her, into her embrace, feeling surrounded by her. Her arm caressed over his shoulders, her hand lingering around his neck and then she trailed her fingers down his spine to the dip of his lower back. She slid her lips from his cheek to his temple and back to his ear again. He was groaning now as she worked him, varying the rhythm and rolling her fingers around him, caressing him as she brought him closer. He turned his mouth to her again and licked her throat, biting gently as he gently massaged her breast in his hand. He had missed being able to taste her so freely, missed this smell of her so close, her heat, her tongue and her touch. He lifted his head up from her throat and closed his eyes simply enjoying her touch.

She kissed his cheek softly. "You like that don't you, John." She said her voice deep and sultry.

He wanted to answer with some witty reply, to give her a sexy smile in return, but he was completely incapable of anything like that and could only nod as he opened his eyes again. She smiled at him, not in a way that said she was amused at him or enjoying her power over him, but in a way that made him feel loved and wanted. He let out a heavy breath of emotion around his building pleasure.

"I love you so much." He told her. She smiled again, though this time he could see some amusement there. He managed to smile this time at his own apparent love-lust, but he meant it. He loved her so much and he would have even if she had left him to go back to Kanaan he realised. Maybe he had loved her longer than he had realised. For a moment as his orgasm began to build in his lower back, the tightness contracting in his groin, he had a flashing memory of following her through the forest of Old Athos towards the caves with the Wraith paintings. He had followed her even then, through the dappled sunlight streaking through the trees to highlight her golden red hair.

She tightened her hand around him even further and he couldn't hold himself back any longer. He opened his eyes from his memory and looked down at himself in her hand and he thrust into her hold. Her mouth covered his ear again, her tongue sliding over him, wet and hot to swirl down to his earlobe once more and she bit down gently. He moaned loudly almost on the precipice as he grabbed both edges of the bathtub in his hands.

"John." She gasped into his ear, her nails biting into his lower back, scratching his skin and he finally abandoned all control.

He shouted out with his release, the sound echoing around the small room and he threw his head back, his body flexing involuntarily as he ground himself out through her hand. Her breath was hot on his throat, her teeth sliding against his skin. With one final loud groan, that he was sure he would be embarrassed at later, his body finally relaxed and he slumped down.

She pulled him once again into her embrace, her arms surrounding him. He panted against her, his cheek pressed against her breast and he closed his eyes as the all-pervading warmth poured throughout his body.

A deep sense of relaxation and sleepiness dulled his senses to reality around him as he just breathed, feeling the satisfaction of his body and Teyla's body against him. Her body moved slightly and he just went with the movement. The taps turned on and a warm damp cloth touched against him as she washed him down, and then she lightly wiped all of his body, cooling him down.

By the time she had finished he was feeling a little more conscious and he pulled his cheek away from her breast, feeling a little weird at sitting in an empty bath naked while she was still full dressed. Her hands slid over him and he turned into her embrace fully this time, pressing his chest to hers. She sighed happily against him, her hands wandering over his back, her touch soothing and satisfying. He felt more satisfied than he had for a long time; for now he knew he had nothing to worry about, that she wasn't going to leave him and that she really did seem to love him.

Her hand wandered back up into his hair and he wondered if he would ever be able to have her touch him that way again without him thinking about what had just happened.

"Do you feel better now?" She asked with a smile in her voice.

He pulled back from her and had to clear his dried throat before he could answer her. "Oh, yes." He replied and she smiled wider, her hand sliding round to cup his jaw.

"Why don't you go rest for awhile?" She suggested. "I am sure the paperwork can wait." She added with a knowing look.

He felt a flush at how transparent he had been, but he didn't really have any energy to try and cover that up anymore. Besides there was no need to anymore.

"I'm sorry again about all that." He offered aware of how deep and sleepy his voice sounded.

She seemed happy enough. "We are both sorry, so I suggest we put it all behind us." She replied before she turned her body, reaching out for one of the towels. He watched her turn, one of her breasts still exposed and he reached out and gently pulled the front of her dampened top back into place. She turned back towards him with one of the soft fluffy white towels. He ignored the offered towel and pulled her back into his embrace, kissing her gently but thoroughly. The towel was settled over his shoulders before her hands slid into his hair again. He broke their kiss and brushed his lips gently over hers as he drew in her scent again. She murmured a happy sound in response.

"I think I might have fallen for you that first day, you know." He whispered to her. "When we went walking through that forest back on Old Athos." He told her as he pulled back enough to look at her.

Her hands settled on the towel over his back and she began rubbing it over him, drying him off. "I remember." She replied. "You complained most of the way." She added as she grinned at him.

"I didn't." He responded with a smile of his own. "Well, how else was I going to get you to look round and talk to me?" He added.

She stopped her drying of his back. "I talked to you." She protested.

"Sure, but for I all I knew you could have been leading me to some ritual killing somewhere in the middle of the forest." He added changing tactics.

She lifted an eyebrow as she resumed drying him, pulling back to slide the towel down his front. He liked the way she was watching what she was doing with a little more interest than was necessary. "Yet, you still followed." She said.

"Of course. I was enjoying the view." He replied and she laughed at his meaning.

He grinned at the slight blush to her cheeks; how could she be blushing over that after what they had just shared? She pushed the towel into his hands before she reached his groin and he gave her a disappointed look. She grinned again as she moved to stand up. "That would explain why you fell over so frequently on that walk then." She said as she set one hand on his shoulder, stood up and stepped out of the bath. He reached up to support her elbow again with one hand.

"I only fell over a couple of times." He protested thoroughly enjoying their banter. The memories of those first days in this galaxy were not pleasant, but meeting Teyla had been the one good part. He stood up in the bath, his legs complaining at how long he had been kneeling in the bath. He dried the rest of himself off quickly as he watched her waiting by the doorway. Thinking back to those memories of meeting her; they seemed so long ago and he had been so much younger then, not just in age, but in experience. So much had happened and so much had changed between him and Teyla.

He climbed out of the bath and threw the towel vaguely over the towel rail. Teyla reached for it, pulling it free to shake it out and then hung it back properly over the rail. He smiled at her look as he pulled his boxers back on. It seemed that there were some things that would always be the same across any galaxy he mused as he gave her an apologetic shrug; he would have sorted the towel later, if he had noticed. She smiled and headed out of the bathroom.

The air felt cooler out here and he moved quickly to pull on a t-shirt and his most comfortably pair of jeans. He looked over to the desk where his very real work did need to be done, but decided he could do it later. Teyla had apparently seen his look from where she was changing out of her water dampened clothes.

"Have a rest John." She indicated the bed and he suspected she was aware at how little he had been sleeping. Though, right now, he felt like he could properly fall asleep. "We don't need to pick Charin up from Jennifer for another hour."

He looked over at the bed and decided he could do with a lie down if nothing else. "Do you want to join me?" He asked looking back at her. "Just to cuddle up." He added at her smiling look. She paused a minute and he found himself holding his breath, which was stupid, but he wanted her curled up with him and for some reason it was important to him right now.

She nodded and headed over to the bed and he followed her feeling oddly grateful. "You don't have to." He found himself adding.

She pulled back the top blanket. "I don't want to stop you from resting properly." Oh, she definitely knew about his lack of sleep.

He climbed up onto the bed, once more glorying in the softness of the mattress; it just didn't get old. She climbed onto the bed next to him and they pulled the top blanket over them as they snuggled down together. He wrapped his arms around her and let out a very happy sigh. "Mattress; good. Warm woman; good." He muttered as he settled back against the pillows, feeling a little weird that he was fully dressed on the bed. She chuckled as she rested against his side, her cheek falling onto his chest, her hand sliding over his cotton t-shirt.

"Thank you for…you know…in the bath." He said softly and she wrapped her top leg over his.

"Anytime." She uttered against his shirt.

He smiled at that, though he had to wonder if it was an honest offer. He was really going to look forward to when she was all healed up, but for now he could finally stop his foolish worries and really start enjoying being back in Atlantis with her and Charin. He squeezed her briefly before they lapsed into silence.

John's body grew even warmer and heavier, the deep satisfaction still glowing throughout his body. He began to dream though he could still hear Teyla breathing against him, feel her body moving occasionally against his. The dreams were calmer this time, full of pleasure, peace and potential. Then a heavy deep weight pulled him into his first proper deep sleep he had had in over a year and a half.

He woke some time later, lying on his front, his cheek on his hand and he opened his eyes and looked out at the quarters. The lighting was subdued and he saw Teyla sitting on one of the chairs with Charin on her lap. He watched them for a few minutes processing that it felt much later in the afternoon and that his body felt as if he had been run over by something. He struggled up onto his elbow and stretched out his neck and back.

"You are awake." Teyla said as she smiled across the room.

He blinked as he sat up further, his body slowly waking. He hated falling deeply asleep in the middle of the day; he always felt slightly disorientated when he woke up. "How long was I asleep?" He asked.

"Four hours." She replied as she stood up with Charin.

"Four hours?!" John asked.

She nodded as she neared him. "It is dinner time."

"Dinner time?" Okay he was sounding like a broken record now, but he still hadn't woken up properly.

She smiled at him as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Would you like to go to the mess hall for dinner? Jennifer said that she and Rodney would be meeting Ronon and Carson there about this time."

He rolled his head on his neck and considered it. They hadn't been spending all that much time with their friends outside of their visits and he kind of missed those group meals. "Sure, sounds good." He replied.

"I have just fed Charin, so she should be happy enough to accompany us." She pulled out the carry crib from behind the chairs and set it up on a chair.

"I'll carry her." John offered quickly, wanting to hold his daughter; he hadn't seen her all day. Teyla smiled up at him as he approached.

"Should you not put some more clothes on first?" She asked.

He looked down to see he was still barefoot and his shirt had clearly been slept in. "Good idea." He replied with a smile. He headed into the bathroom quickly, pausing in the doorway to wink back at Teyla. He pulled on a clean shirt, jacket and his boots. All ready to go he headed over to where Charin sat in her reclining seat, watching the soft toys hanging over her. He crouched down over her.

"Hello, Munchkin." He said and Charin smiled brightly, her arms waving up at him to be picked up. He couldn't help the burst of happiness such a simple thing brought out in him. He freed her from the safety belt and lifted her up in his hands. She was growing fast. "How about we go see what all your Aunts and Uncles are up to, huh?" He asked her as he turned to find Teyla watching him with a soft smile. She had the carry crib and Charin's bag so they headed out into the city.

John walked with Charin in one arm, pausing to let her look at a couple of things while Teyla walked on ahead. Several personnel who passed had to stop to look at Charin and John proudly let everyone smile at her and say how cute she was. It took them twice the time to get to the mess hall than normal, but throughout it John felt comfortable around everyone, hardly feeling defensive or edgy. Progress he realised; something to finally mention to Murphy.

They entered the mess hall to see that it was only half full and that their friends were already around a table. John could hear Rodney's complaining from across the room.

"I told Zelenka that, but he didn't believe me." He was muttering.

"Of course not, Rodney." Carson replied. He was sitting opposite Keller and beside him Ronon was munching his way through a massively full plate. Carson was the first to noticed them approaching. "Hallo, there." He called out brightly.

"Hello, Carson." Teyla replied, having reached the table first. "We were hoping to join you all."

"Of course." Carson said as he and Keller both turned and reached for more chairs from nearby tables. John reached the table just as the third extra chair was set for Charin's carry crib. John sat down next to it keeping Charin in his arms. Carson leant towards him to look down at Charin. "There you are my little one, how are you?" He asked.

"She's doing very well." John replied proudly. He noticed Carson had finished his meal. "You want to hold her?" He offered.

"I would love to." Carson replied immediately as he wiped his hands on his napkin and reached for Charin. John passed his daughter carefully over to Carson before he stood up again to go select his dinner.

Teyla was already in the line, so he joined her. "What we got?"

"There is a very nice looking vegetable stew, fried chicken or a pie, the contents of which I am unsure." She replied.

"No green bread then?" He asked.

She laughed and nudged him gently in his side. They chose their food, complete with pudding and hot drinks; luxuries in which John was still taking great pleasure. They returned to the table and took their seats.

"What were you saying about Zelenka?" John asked Rodney.

Keller rolled her eyes and Carson groaned. "No, Colonel, please!" Keller begged him.

He smiled at her before turning to Rodney.

"You wouldn't believe it…" Rodney started, but John tuned most of it out. He was too pleased at the fact that he was happily sitting in the mess hall without feeling too uncomfortable. Not that he hadn't chosen the most strategic seat, so that he was facing most of the room; he would have chosen that seat anyway. Besides, sitting with the potted plants behind you wasn't the same as having your back against a corner. Progress.

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TBC


	54. Kerra

**Chapter:** 54 - Kerra

**Note:** After a break I am back on the case with this fic – had a busy few weeks with being ill, trips to Bristol and busy at work. I think after 100,000 words on this story I needed a bit of a break!

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Crisp dew lay over the path as Kerra made her way out of her own people's camp towards the Athosian camp. Her friend Thea had remarked that Kerra should simply move to the Athosian camp to live as she spent most of her days there. Kerra had smiled away the comment, unsure whether it had been simple jesting or a subtle way of her friend showing her disapproval. Or was it perhaps that their people disapproved? Kerra had not wanted to ask for she feared the response.

The path reached the forest area outlying the Athosian territory and Kerra slowed her steps trying to deny the anticipation she felt as she did everyday she walked to the neighbouring camp. She truly enjoyed her work caring for the Athosian children, yet she could not deny to herself that the highlights of her day were in talking with Kanaan. He had completed most of the river project and with his frequent trips to Atlantis she had had fewer occasions to see him. The spring rains had also prevented her from taking the children down to the river which had always given her an excuse to visit him as he worked on the irrigation channels. It had also helped her to encourage him to spend more time with his son, but since Teyla's return both Kanaan and Torren appeared more settled. Seeing that renewed ease in them both had truly pleased her, yet she had felt sad at the fact that Teyla's return meant she saw less of Kanaan and Torren.

However, last week Kanaan had appeared at the Sitter's tent offering to build any furniture they may need. She had quickly decided that a further set of table and stools for the children would be appreciated. He had spent the week working on the request, which had meant he had been much closer in the camp and she had taken the children to watch him create their new furniture.

The new furniture had been finished two days ago and Kanaan had visited twice since to check that the Sitter's did not require anything else. The thrill at his visits had been slightly dulled when he had told her about today's planned festivities. Teyla was visiting her people for the first time since her return and there would be a ceremony to welcome her and her new child. Kanaan had asked if Kerra would care for the children for an extra day so that the parents could be free for the festivities to welcome the new baby into the community. She had immediately agreed, though the flash of jealousy and nervousness at today worried her slightly.

She brushed aside a tree branch that was reaching across the path, sprinkling dew over her as she did and she wiped the early morning moisture from her chilled cheek. The suns were fast rising now, spreading brilliant early morning light across the land. She always enjoyed this time of day; when you could feel the promise of the approaching warmth of the day. Above her the sky was beautifully clear which hopefully meant that today would be bright and sunny for Teyla's return.

Kerra reached the edge of the Athosian camp to find that most of the community were already awake and moving around the tents. A large area had been cleared around a table draped in thick colourful cloths on which had been arranged a circle of smooth stones. Lanterns and flowers were being strung up around the open space. Those working smiled and called out greetings to Kerra as she passed. She returned the greetings before moving away into the avenue of tents, passing more lanterns and the strong smell of cooking filled the air. Kanaan had explained that the festival would last all day and both meals would be prepared on the day. The baby would be greeted in a special ceremony, her name officially given to her and then in the evening they planned a large feast to thank the Ancestor's for both Teyla's safe return and the new Athosian baby. The festivities were expected the last all day and into the night. Teyla and her new family would be staying in the guest tent, which had been set up yesterday.

Kerra reached the Sitter's tent to find another sitter had already opened the tent and set out the toys and furniture for the children in the early morning sunlight. Two children were already there, one of which was Torren. Kerra returned the little boy's smile as she sat down beside him. He was considerably happier now and though he still refused to talk and was rather clingy it was clear to Kerra that he was vastly improving. She stroked his dark hair and he smiled once again as he held up one of his new favourite toys. Kerra did not know the name of animal the soft toy depicted as it had been made on Earth, but Torren loved the toy. She took the toy for him, holding it whilst he turned to building up some colourful bricks. The other child, Asthra, wandered over and settled herself against Kerra.

Gradually more children were brought over to the Sitting area and the activity of the camp grew considerably. Kerra couldn't remember when she had seen the camp so full and busy. Athosians who had chosen to live elsewhere had also arrived, wishing to be present for the festivities and their children soon joined in with the others. The camp's activity and the new playmates for the children meant that they were all rather excitable and Kerra and the other Sitter had to work hard to keep them entertained and distracted. After an hour or so one of the teachers arrived and took the older children aside and began teaching them about the day's ceremony and its origins. Kerra tried to listen in, but the younger children were still rather demanding. So she did not notice Kanaan's arrival until he called her name and she looked round to see him climbing into the sand pit alongside Torren and Asthra.

"Hello, Kaaan. Good day to you." She offered her usual greeting. "How do the preparations go?"

Torren finished hugging his father and sat back down in the sand and continued building up an uneven mound of sand. He stuck a stick into the top of the mound and giggled. Kanaan met Kerra's eyes and they laughed lightly at Torren. It was good to see him so happy.

"The preparations are almost complete as is the lunch. I wanted to check that you would be joining us this evening for the feast." He asked.

Surprised and thrilled at the question she smiled. The Athosians were a very welcoming people and she had already assured others that she would attend, but it was Kanaan's invitation that meant the most to her. "Yes, I am very much looking forward to it. I have not attended an Athosian feast before."

Kanaan smiled. "But, I remember that you have enjoyed some ruus wine before."

A little taken back by the gentle teasing she smiled, knowing she was blushing. She had several other friends in the Athosian camp and on one occasion they had all enjoyed an evening of ruus wine and idle talk. Kerra had only just made it back to her own camp before she passed out from the intoxicating drink.

"I will stay far away from the ruus wine." She promised.

"You can enjoy as much food and drink as you wish, Kerra, there certainly is enough to feed twice our number." Torren had started on another pile of sand, which this time he managed to build up higher.

"Your people have much to celebrate today." She offered, knowing that the entire camp was excited about seeing Teyla again and in meeting her new child. Kerra still felt a little nervous about meeting Teyla. Kerra had begun sitting for the Athosian children before Teyla had gone missing, but they had never actually met and Kerra was slightly worried that somehow Teyla would see her secret affection for Kanaan.

"Yes, we do." Kanaan replied.

Fortunately one child demanded attention at that point and Kerra turned to listen to the child's garbled question. Behind her Kanaan kissed his son's head and stood up from the sand pit. "I will see you later, Kerra. Most of the children will be welcome for the ceremony and if you find yourself free please feel free to watch the naming ceremony as well."

She smiled up at him as he moved away. "Thank you, Kanaan."

He disappeared into the mass of moving people and Kerra lost herself once again in her duties. It was perhaps an hour later when it became clear that Teyla and her family had arrived as the noise level of the camp rose considerably and people began heading through the tents towards the open area across the camp. It was a short time later when Torren stood up and moved away, drawing Kerra's attention.

Kanaan was approaching and at his shoulder walked a beautiful petite woman, and Kerra knew instantly that this was Teyla. Torren giggled loudly and began moving forward to meet his parents, but Kerra gently held him back, not wanting him to walk across the path where others might walk into him. Torren waited patiently in her hands and she saw the massive smile on his face and she felt very emotional to see his joy.

"Teyla, this is Kerra." Kanaan introduced her with a smile.

Kerra let Torren move to his parents and she stood to meet Teyla for the first time. Teyla stood up from hugging Torren and smiled brightly at Kerra. The smile was so friendly and sincere that Kerra instantly found herself liking her.

"Kerra, I have been looking forward to meeting you. Kanaan has told us how you have been so kind to look after Torren."

Flattered at the comment Kerra smiled. "I enjoy looking after him; he is always a good little boy." She looked down at Torren who smiled up at her before he moved past Teyla's legs. Only then did Kerra register the man behind Teyla who was holding several bags. The man smiled down at Torren and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Charin's with Halling, Torren." The man said, obviously having understood Torren's unspoken question. He was a very attractive man Kerra could not help but notice.

"Kerra, this is Colonel John Sheppard from Atlantis and Earth." Teyla introduced the man who turned his handsome green eyes to her and smiled.

"Hi, Kerra, just call me John." Kerra instantly liked him as well. She had not expected to have taken to the two people so easily considering the situation. For Teyla had rejected Kanaan in favour of the other, yet Kerra only felt pleased to meet them and Kanaan seemed relaxed.

"I have heard much of you both." Kerra replied as she returned the smiles. "We were all delighted to hear that you were returned safely following your long ordeal."

"It is certainly nice to be back." Teyla replied as she looked around at the tents and a wide happy smile lit her beautiful face. Kerra felt ever so plain standing beside her near Kanaan, but she swept aside such thoughts.

"Congratulations on the birth of your second child, Teyla." Kerra offered.

"Thank you, Kerra. Are you joining us for the ceremony and feast?" Teyla asked.

"If I am able." Kerra replied, unsure if Teyla was perhaps simply being polite.

"I have told Kerra that she is most welcome to stay for the feast tonight." Kanaan said.

Teyla looked at him and nodded. Kerra found herself watching how Teyla looked at Kanaan, but she saw nothing other than gentle affection and some amusement she noted.

"Well, thank you again, Kerra. We will see you again later. I do hope that you can stay for the feast if you wish." Teyla replied before she turned to Torren who had wrapped his arms around her leg. "Shall we go and see Charin, Torren?" Teyla asked and the little boy's eyes lit up and he turned and began walking away. They all laughed at Torren's little stomping march away from the group back towards all the activity on the other side of the camp.

Teyla smiled once again and moved to follow Torren, catching up with him easily. Kanaan turned to John.

"I will show you to the guest tent so you can put down all your things." Kanaan said politely and Kerra looked up at him. She realised that there could be considerable issues between these two men and she looked over at John to see how he was responding, only to see him smile.

"That would be great, thanks." He replied as he hefted the bags up onto his shoulders. "I think Teyla packed everything her and Charin own."

Kanaan smiled in response. Kerra knew the smile was weaker than his usual smiles, but she could see that he was pleased at John's response. She felt the urge to reach out and touch Kanaan; to lend him her support in some way. He looked to her then and she almost flinched, fearing he had heard her thoughts. His smile deepened.

"I will see you later, Kerra." He said before he turned and moved away.

"Nice to meet you, Kerra." John said as he graced her with another smile before he moved off to follow Kanaan.

Kerra watched them move away and found her self studying how close they walked to each other and the way they held their bodies. She had expected to see considerable tension and distance between them, but though they were far from relaxed with each other, they appeared to be talking politely enough with each other as they disappeared from view.

Kerra returned her attention to the children only to find the other Sitter watching her with a rather knowing smile. Kerra felt the blush to her cheeks as she smiled back and quickly focused on helping Asthra finish her scribbled drawing.

As she helped Asthra, Kerra was aware that a deep tension had eased inside her chest. Teyla appeared to be as kind as others had described her and Kerra had sensed no lingering tension between Teyla and Kanaan. Teyla's new man appeared relaxed enough around Kanaan as well, which implied to Kerra that, for the most part, things had been resolved on all sides, which pleased Kerra. She hoped that today would go well for everyone, but especially so for Kanaan.

-------  
TBC


	55. Teyla 16

**Chapter:** 55 - Teyla

------

It was only once she had fastened all the buttons on her coat that Teyla realised she had worn the same coat the day she had discovered her people had been taken by Michael. It had been one of the darkest days of her life to walk into the Athosian camp and see it so alarmingly empty. Once she had returned to Atlantis she had pushed the warm brown coat into the furthest depths of her wardrobe, unwilling to wear it again. There had been too many memories linked to the coat for her to happily wear it again. That had been over two years ago, longer by her perspective, and she had forgotten the negative associations linked to the coat until now. When she had unpacked all of her clothes from the storage boxes she had not recalled the significance of the coat. Now as she stood once again in the coat she could not help but see it as symbolic.

Behind her John's music danced happily out of the computer's speakers. She turned from her wardrobe, her hands flattening the front of the coat across her flat belly. The music was soft, yet cheerful and as she listened to it she could not help reflecting that the description could just as easily be applied to her current life. It had been two weeks since she and John had argued finally over the issue of Kanaan and since then life had felt considerably more relaxed. John had lost most of his tension, though he occasionally was disturbed at night by a nightmare, as she was still. Their relationship had once again become deeply affectionate and though there was still a little longer to wait until they could resume the more intimate level of their relationship, they were both contented and happy.

John had returned to work full time, though on Mr Woolsey and the IOA's insistence he had changed his job description slightly. Colonel Walker had been granted his application to stay on in the city and John had assigned him to leading the Off World division of the city, which meant John spent less time off world and had more regular hours, crisis permitting. Both Colonel Walker and Major Lorne reported to John and John had remarked that he had begun to use his office quite regularly. John appeared happy with the changes, especially as currently there were a group of recruits stationed in the city and John was responsible for their training and testing. Ronon was assisting and Teyla had the impression that the two of them were enjoying 'instructing' the new recruits. Rodney had been rather annoyed that 'the team' had been officially broken up, as the military and the IOA would no longer allow John to be Teyla's superior (which had led to quite a few teasing jokes). Mr Woolsey had suggested that when Teyla decided to return to work when Charin was older that she could work as an advisor or consultant, but for now Teyla was happy to be living back in Atlantis and enjoying her time with John and her children.

Teyla moved towards Charin's reclined chair. Teyla had made a special outfit for Charin today, for today they would be travelling to the Athosian camp and Teyla would once again be reunited with her people. Charin would be introduced to her people and the naming ceremony performed. Halling had also informed her that the feast tonight would also be held to celebrate her safe return as well as Charin's ceremony. Teyla was deeply touched and was looking forward to the day.

John however was clearly a little more nervous on the matter. He had tried to be his usual casual self, but she could see right through that pretence. He had admitted last night that he was a little worried about how he would be greeted and had offered to stay behind if she thought it best. She had tried to reassure him that her people would not judge him and that it was important that he was there for the naming ceremony. He seemed happy, but this morning he had been up earlier than normal which told her he was still nervous.

Behind her John emerged from the open bathroom door, having just shaved and the gentle smell of his aftershave filled the air. He smiled at her as his eyes dropped down her, his approval at her outfit clear. Oddly she remembered he had reacted the same way the last time she had worn this coat. She turned back to Charin and pulled on her little coat and hat to keep out the cold, as behind her John shut down his computer. She rechecked the two bags she had packed for Charin. They would be staying in the Athosian camp tonight and Teyla wanted to make sure she had enough with her. Torren had been with Kanaan for the last four days and would be returning with them, so she had packed some clothes for him as well.

"You sure we need all this stuff?" John asked.

She turned to see him pulling on his dark leather jacket over his crisp white shirt. He looked very smart and Teyla was touched at how seriously he was taking today's ceremony. "We are staying in the camp so I think it will be best to take all we may need." She replied. As well as the two bags for Charin, they had their own clothes and such, which were all packed into the backpack which John was currently settling on his back. Teyla had also wanted to take the carry crib, but Kanaan had assured her that there would be a spare crib in the guest tent for Charin.

"You ready?" John asked.

"Yes." She looped one of Charin's bags around her shoulder, but before she could pick up the other John reached past her and picked it up. She reached for Charin instead, choosing to carry her rather than in the sling. Teyla was looking forward to everyone meeting Charin and she had not seen Torren for four days. Tonight she would sleep in a traditional Athosian tent with all of her family around her; she was thoroughly looking forward to it.

Charin settled, they left their quarters and made their way to the Gate room. John asked again about the details of the ceremony. There was nothing he had to do other than stand by her and Charin and answer the standard ritual questions promising to protect and care for his child. They reached the Gate room and found Mr Woolsey waiting for them.

"I wanted to wish you well for the ceremony." He said as they arrived and Teyla smiled brightly at him. He was a good kind man, though clearly he found it difficult to handle some social situations.

"Thank you, Mr Woolsey." She replied.

"We've got radios in case anything happens." John said.

"Don't worry Colonel we'll hold it all together for you." Teyla looked up the stairs to see Major Lorne and Colonel Walker standing beside each other at the top of the stairs. Teyla smiled up at them; they were good men and Teyla knew that John respected both of them and enjoyed their company.

John muttered something about Laurel and Hardy before he turned to the turning lights on the Gate. Teyla mentally went through everything she had packed in the bags once again.

"We've got everything." John assured her, somehow knowing what she had been thinking and she smiled up at him. The Gate activated and the wormhole jumped to life. With last goodbyes they walked towards the glowing blue light and stepped through.

The sunny green landscape greeted them as they stepped out of the wormhole. Charin grumbled slightly, stirring in Teyla arms, but Teyla bounced her gently and she settled back to sleep. John took in a deep breath and let it out with a happy sigh. Teyla did the same. It had been a long time since she had been anywhere so lush. She looked round at John and he smiled at her before leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. A little surprised at the impromptu affection she returned the kiss and gave him a questioning look.

"Just nice for it to be just us again." He replied. She understood what he meant, though they were alone together in their quarters all the time. "So, which way?" He asked.

"The path to the left." Teyla nodded towards the path and they headed towards it. "It should be no longer than a ten minute walk."

They wandered along the path, both of them thoroughly enjoying the nice 'country walk' as John referred to it, but as the sounds of the camp eventually reached them she watched John straighten his back and look slightly more serious. She tried not to smile at his nervousness. She had no opportunity to add any last reassurances as ahead someone spotted them and sent out the call to the rest of the camp. John held back slightly, letting Teyla move ahead as they turned the last corner and the wonderful familiar sight of an Athosian camp greeted her.

People were heading towards them and at the front was Jinto, having been looking out for them. Teyla embraced Jinto as best as she could around Charin, amazed once again at how much older Jinto was now and so like his father. Halling was right behind Jinto, wrapping his arms around Teyla before he stood aside making space for the rest of her people. Tears filled Teyla's eyes at seeing her long lost friends as she rested her forehead against others' over and over, and everyone exclaimed how beautiful little Charin was. Halling reached in offering to take Charin and Teyla passed her over into his caring arms and continued in her reunions. She was surrounded by kind arms, tear filled eyes and wide smiles and she could feel her own tears trickling down her cheeks.

Once she reached the end of the wave of greeting and affection she turned to find John to see him surrounded by people and she was delighted to see he looked happy and relaxed. So, she returned her attention to her people, answering questions and asking her own. They led her to the ceremonial area they had set up for Charin's ceremony and she thanked them all. She could smell the ritual bread in the air and behind it the full flavours of long roasted meat and sweet spices. She had missed all these details of her people, of her heritage. Kanaan appeared and embraced her and moved past her to shake John's hand. Following the argument two weeks ago John had begun to make an effort in being polite to Kanaan and Teyla had been pleased to see Kanaan respond in kind. The two of them could now have a conversation without any glaring or difficult silences. They would never be friends, but they would always be around each other from now onwards and they both appeared to have accepted each other.

She moved to join them and they both smiled at her. "Is Torren around?" Teyla asked Kanaan.

"Kerra is looking after him. Shall we go and fetch him?" Kanaan asked.

"I would love to and I have been looking forward to meeting Kerra." Teyla replied and saw an odd expression pass over Kanaan's face before he turned and lead them into the tents.

As they neared the Sitter's tent Teyla could see and hear the happy sounds of children at play. Torren was already waiting for them, his eyes immediately locking onto her and she smiled at her son. A gentle looking woman with dark hair and pale eyes had her hands around Torren, holding him carefully back from running in front of the busy path between them.

As Teyla had suspected Kanaan introduced the woman as Kerra. Once Teyla had hugged Torren tightly in greeting she thanked Kerra for all her work in caring for Torren. The woman had kind eyes and a soft manner, yet her voice was full of energy. Teyla could see why Kerra was so good with children, yet there was also something rather contained about the woman, as if she were slightly nervous about something. Her eyes shifted from Teyla to John as Teyla introduced him and then her pale eyes turned to Kanaan and Teyla suddenly understood. Teyla looked up at Kanaan to see a slight nervous flush to his cheeks that anyone else would have missed, but to Teyla it was clear. She did not sense any signs that these two were lovers, but it was clear that they had affection for each other. Rather than feel sad about the change of Kanaan's affections Teyla felt nothing but pleasure and some amusement at her friend. When Teyla asked if Kerra would be joining them for the ceremony and feast Kanaan was quick to say she was invited.

Torren wrapped his arms around Teyla's leg and she dropped her attention to her son stroking over his dark head. She had missed him these past days and she knew he wanted to see Charin. At the question he turned and headed away intent on finding Halling who had Charin last they knew. Teyla laughed at the sight of her son, usually so restrained, now stomping off to find his sister. Teyla exchanged at look with John and moved away to follow Torren, leaving John to settle their things in the guest tent.

Torren reached up for her hand as they moved back towards the ceremonial area though they stopped frequently to talk with people. Halling appeared with Charin and Torren went off to see his sister. Leaving her children in Halling's care Teyla moved on to the ceremonial table. The stone circle of life had been arranged in the centre on rich dark red and green cloths; the colours of life. Teyla pulled her bag round and pulled out the items she had brought for Charin's ceremony; her mother's bracelet to link Teyla to her mother and Charin to her grandmother; a ceremonial cup to show Teyla's commitment to the rituals of her people; her long curved knife to represent protection and finally a candle to always light her daughter's way through her life.

Teyla arranged the items, taking time to feel the importance of the ceremony and the emotion of her lost family. She vividly remembered arranging the ceremonial table for Torren's naming ceremony and she reflected on how much had changed in the time since. Movement at her shoulder made her look round to find John had returned. He smiled and looked down at the table. She had explained to him last night the symbols she had chosen for Charin's naming ceremony. He had nodded his way through, seeming honestly interested.

"Can I add something?" He asked now.

She had offered it to him before, but had not honestly thought he would wish to do so. "Of course." She replied as she stood back slightly, making space for him at the table.

He reached out and placed down a small metallic pin, setting it amongst her chosen symbols for the ceremony. Teyla glanced down at the pin and recognised the shaped metallic wings.

"You know, so she can fly as high as she wants." He said lifting one shoulder casually, and Teyla felt tears in the corner of her eyes. She nodded in reply, knowing he was feeling self conscious about his choice. She returned her attention to the table and ran her fingers over all the items, leaving John's wings till last and then stood back.

"Are you ready?" Halling asked from behind and Teyla looked round to find Halling waiting patiently with Charin.

"Yes, we are ready." Teyla replied as she reached for her daughter.

"I will call everyone together." Halling said with a smile as he moved away.

Charin had woken up and was looking around at everything with interest. John leant in and tickled her tummy and she smiled brightly.

"Bet she'll cry through it." He said with a smile.

Teyla nudged him with her elbow at his teasing. "It does not matter if she does."

Behind them everyone began to fill into the area. Voices were high and bright and the children were mingling around the adults to watch the ceremony. Halling moved to stand behind the table alongside the current eldest Athosian, a woman of seventy years; it was important to link the eldest and youngest of their people.

The ceremony began with Halling calling for the presence of the Ancestors and thanking them for the gift of new life for their people. He spoke of the past of their people, recanting stories, telling only those that spoke of life and freedom. Finally he spoke the welcoming words and he indicated for Teyla to present Charin. Teyla stepped forward and laid Charin down in the centre of the stone circle and stepped back slightly, John at her side. Charin lay happily, apparently fascinated with the bright blue sky above her and the movement of birds and occasionally Halling's arms above her. Halling asked Teyla and then John for their promises to protect young Charin in her life and finally he asked for Charin's name.

"We name her Charin Violet Emmagan Sheppard." Teyla stated clearly.

"Then we the Athosians welcome Charin Violet Emmagan Sheppard into our people and through her our link to the people of Earth and Atlantis." Halling stood over Charin and cupped his hand over her forehead. "May the Ancestors always walk with you and grant you strength, courage, wisdom, insight and joy."

Everyone stood, all clapping their hands and stomped their feet rhythmically. John reached forward and picked Charin up from the circle. As they stepped away from the table everyone once again flooded around them, congratulating them and touching their fingertips gently to Charin's forehead. Teyla stood beside John, Torren's arms wrapped around her leg and she watched her daughter greeted so willingly and she let the joyful tears fill her eyes.

-----  
TBC


	56. John 16

**Chapter:** 56 - John

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The two suns had slipped away many long hours ago and the camp was now almost entirely silent. John held Charin closer to him as he carefully navigated around a tent, following Teyla through the darkness. When most had turned in for the night following a long day of feasting, they had taken Halling's offer of tea in his tent with Teyla's closest friends. Now, it was very late and though John had been feeling tired for awhile, the pleasure at seeing Teyla so happy had been enough to keep him awake. He had caught himself staring at her many times throughout the day, for she had looked so happy and her laughter so infectious that he had found himself simply watching her across a crowd or tent. He had stayed back though, allowing her the time to reconnect with her people, not that he hadn't been busy, for most of the older kids remembered his old football lessons and had wanted to play again. Even Kerra had joined in, learning the rules of the game so she could umpire matches for the kids in the camp.

It had been a good day John reflected. Despite his earlier concern that he might not be all that welcome in the camp, he had in fact been welcomed more warmly than ever before. The ceremony for Charin had gone well and hadn't been too long which had meant Charin had stayed quiet and contented. It appeared that his daughter had cast her spell over the entire camp, with everyone instantly in love with her and she had been cuddled by pretty much every member of the camp. Torren had been given plenty of attention as well, though he had spent most of his time connected to Teyla, other than when he wandered over to Kanaan or to whomever had been holding Charin.

Presently Torren was wrapped up in Teyla's arms as she somehow found the guest tent among the collection of nondescript tents in the near complete darkness. She had allowed Torren to stay up with them in Halling's tent, though the boy had fallen asleep pretty early cuddled up on her lap. Once Charin had begun to fuss with people she had been handed back to John and he had fed her with a pre-prepared bottle of Teyla's milk. He had enjoyed sitting in the tent into the late hours with Charin asleep in his arms and Teyla by his side, and had been told several amusing stories from Teyla's childhood that had made her blush.

Teyla disappeared into the guest tent ahead and John quickly followed her, stepping into the now familiar tent in which he had left their bags earlier. A small fire had been lit and carefully contained to warm the tent for them and it supplied just enough light for them to navigate around the large bed. A crib had been set to one side of the large comfortable bed and John made his way over to it and laid Charin carefully down. He had already dressed her in her night clothes, so he tucked the small warm blanket around her and leant down to place a light kiss on her tiny little forehead.

Standing up he looked across the tent to see Teyla encouraging Torren into his night clothes, which he somehow managed despite being mostly asleep. John moved away to check the fire and to then rummage through the backpack to find his and Teyla's nightclothes. He set Teyla's down on the side of the bed closest to Charin's crib and set about changing into his. Once changed John set aside the backpack and moved to his side of the bed, passing Teyla who was gently stroking Torren's forehead as he drifted back to sleep in his junior bed. John pulled back the thick Athosian blanket from the large bed and climbed between the sheets beneath. The bed was pretty comfy he noted as he settled down and the sheets held the lingering scents of Athosian incense.

He settled down comfortably, his body heavy and ready to sleep. He watched as Teyla moved away from the sleeping Torren and made her way around the foot of the bed. Through the darkness, lit only with the faint dying fire, John watched her changing into her night clothes, enjoying the sight of her skin appearing and disappearing as she changed. Finally ready for bed she checked Charin once more before she turned to the bed as John lifted the sheets and blanket up for her, and she crawled to his side, snuggling down against him. John wrapped his arms around her and inhaled the mixed scents of wood smoke, Athosian candles and baby.

"Did you enjoy today?" She asked quietly.

"I did." He replied honestly as he stroked one hand up and down her back. "Halling told me there's going to be another ceremony and feast for Charin in two months – something about giving her a stone of fortune?"

She chuckled against his chest. "The Rite of Parkii."

"I think you Athosians just like a good party." John replied against her hair.

She chuckled again, though it sounded sleepier now. "Indeed we do."

John kept up the steady caressing strokes over her back, feeling her growing heavier with sleep against him. He studied the tent ceiling above him through the dim light and contemplated what he had experienced today. The Athosians were a very spiritual people, which he had known before, but after having been actually involved so directly in the ceremony it had made the fact even more obvious. They had welcomed him warmly, embracing his daughter into their camp. There had been no judgements about him as Charin's father that he had seen or heard and even after all the bad things Atlantis' involvement in this galaxy had wrought on the Athosians they still accepted his daughter and treated him with respect. He wondered if he would have been so accepting had the situation been reversed.

Teyla had looked so happy among her people today, that it had struck him that, despite her assurances that she was happy in Atlantis with him, he had to wonder if she didn't miss this life. He believed she was happy in Atlantis, but what if the day came in which he was recalled to Earth; what would happen then? Would she want to live on Earth, or would he come and live here with the Athosians? A year ago he would have denied ever being able to live a life like the Athosians; away from the enjoyments of Earth and unable to fly again. But, after his experiences on the Planet from Hell, he knew he could, for now he had something worth living for; his family. He knew he could live in this camp if he needed to, or perhaps he and Teyla could share their time between Earth and the Athosian camp? What did Teal'c do back on Earth? John seemed to remember that Teal'c had lived in the SGC for years, only being allowed to live 'outside' on Earth briefly. John couldn't imagine the SGC or IOA denying Teyla a life on Earth if she chose it, could they? Charin was technically a Sheppard, but Teyla was his just his girlfriend in their eyes. He sneered at the term in the darkness, for it was a weak description of what they shared. Maybe there was an Athosian word that better described their relationship; he would try to bring it up in conversation tomorrow with Teyla, or maybe Halling.

Teyla sighed in her sleep and turned over, rolling away from his side to lie on her stomach. John drew his arm out from under her and she sighed as she adjusted herself more comfortably. He tucked his arm under his pillow and closed his eyes; willing himself to stop his idle thinking and go to sleep. Teyla brushed her leg against his and he entwined their legs together, enjoying the sensation of skin against skin as he let out a breath, willing himself to sleep.

Images of the day's ceremony mixed randomly with the darker memories of the Planet from Hell. The long avenues of the tents stretched out from the base of Violet Eyes' tall crashed ship, the tall spires casting strange shadows over the camp. Everyone was huddled up inside their tents as usual, leaving the avenue empty as John wandered through the darkness. An unusual breeze was drifting down the path, carrying with it brief echoes of crying, shouting and the vague distant sounds of warfare. John paused, listening to the sound as it danced on the edge of his hearing. He circled on the spot seeking out the source of the sounds, only to hear them shift into laughter and cheerful talking. He wandered further away from the ship, following the noise, until up ahead he spied a large tent and from its entrance and weakly cut windows light spilt out into the dark night. Inside people were celebrating; inside there was safety and family. John quickened his step towards the tent, wanting desperately to be inside there and not shut out in dark cold shadow of the ship. Yet, as fast as he ran he could not seem to get any closer to the tent. His legs burned with the exertion and his body grew weak with tiredness and finally he had to stop, and leant forward to rest his hands on his knees as he panted. He stared down at the dry dusty earth under his bare feet as he worked to steady his breathing.

A subtle tinge of awareness tickled the back of his neck and he stood upright again, eyes searching the darkness. The sensation repeated itself, a warning touch on the back of his neck that told him someone or something was watching him. He studied the tents around him and then turned his gaze out towards the distant hills surrounding the camp. Someone was out there. The warm breeze drifted around him, carrying with it the scents of wood smoke and incense.

John woke abruptly, the sensation of being watched following him out of his dream. He blinked as he lifted his cheek from a pillow and the dark outlines of the Athosian tent came into focus around him. The worry and caution from his dream dimmed somewhat, but he still turned to seek out what or who was watching him. Teyla's soft gentle breathing was steady beside him, and her touch was warm where one of her hands rested against his back. John lifted himself up onto his elbows and looked around the dark tent around him. A small movement drew his attention to the side and as his eyes adjusted properly to the dark shadows he saw Torren standing a few feet away, his teddy bear tightly held in one hand. John relaxed, the adrenaline dropping away.

"Hey, buddy." John said softly as he turned himself further towards Torren. "You okay?"

Torren edged forward towards the bed as John sat up, being careful not to disturb Teyla. Torren stopped about a foot away, his free hand lifting nervously to his mouth. John swung his legs round to sit on the edge of the bed and Torren edged closer again as John leant down to him. "You okay?" John guessed Torren was confused waking up in a strange tent and usually when he was with them he was in Atlantis not in an Athosian tent.

Torren moved closer. "'arin." He uttered.

John leant closer, holding back his surprise to hear the body actually talking. "What?"

"'Arin?" Torren said and by the upturn of the word John realised it was a question.

"Charin?" John asked him and Torren nodded as he looked nervously around the dark tent. John looked over his shoulder, peering over Teyla to the crib beyond in which he could see Charin was fast asleep, her little chest rising and falling. Happy she was okay he turned back to Torren.

"You want to know where Charin is?" John asked and Torren nodded as he stepped the final distance towards John and rested a little hand on John's knee. "She's on the other side of the bed, Torren, near your mom." Torren peered around John, but as the Athosian crib was low to the floor John guessed he probably couldn't see it.

"You want to go check on Charin?" John asked him quietly and Torren nodded. "Okay, let's go check on her." Torren's hand brushed against John's as he stood, the small fingers latching onto John's and holding tightly. Touched by the simple gesture of trust, John led Torren around the foot of the bed. Teyla slept deeply as they reached her side of the bed, though John had to note that she seemed to be taking up most of the centre of the large bed. Reaching the crib John crouched down beside Torren as they both looked in on Charin. She was sleeping deeply, her tiny little arms up by her head as she twitched slightly at something in her own private dream world.

"See, she's okay." John whispered, looking at Torren who was leaning in to look at her, his expression focused as he assessed his sister. John smiled at the little boy. "It's good of you to check on her, Torren." He said and Torren looked at him with an expression of such hopefulness that John put his arm around the boy. "You're a very good brother." John assured him. Memories of his own childhood with Dave came instantly to mind and John smiled at the early years in which he had idolised his older brother. Though as they had grown up and had lost their mother they had drifted apart, or perhaps it had been that John had pulled away from Dave? Surprised at his own self analysis in the middle of the night, John promised himself to send Dave a letter when he got back to Atlantis. Though Dave had been informed that his brother had been found following his six months MIA, John had yet to write to his brother and instantly felt bad about it. After all he had a lot to tell Dave; he was a new Uncle.

Apparently satisfied that Charin was fine, Torren stood back from the crib and leant in against John. John wrapped his arm securely around the boy without thinking, his newly discovered parenting skills asserting themselves. Torren drew his teddy bear closer to him, the small worried frown returning. He looked overwhelmed with the new tent and new circumstances. Occasionally when he was staying in Atlantis Torren would wake up confused from a nightmare and Teyla would occasionally carry him into their bed to help him fall back to sleep. John thought it might help tonight.

"You want to sit on the big bed with us for awhile?" John asked and the boy nodded immediately before turning and wrapping his arms around John's neck. John stood up, lifting Torren up with him, and carried him around to the other side of the bed again. Teyla stirred in her sleep as John placed Torren down on the mattress and lifted the sheets for him to crawl into the warmth. Torren shifted closer to his mom, but could clearly see that Teyla was still fast asleep. John climbed into the bed, drawing the blanket up over him and Torren. John plumped up his pillow and pushed it over slightly so Torren could use some of it and laid down. Instantly Torren was at his side and before John could blink Torren was snuggling up against him. The small warmth of Teyla's son was oddly comforting for John and he decided it would help Torren fall asleep, so he wrapped his arm around the boy.

"You comfy?" John whispered and Torren nodded against John's chest. The plastic eyes of the teddy bear stared up at John from where it rested over his chest, held tightly in Torren's hand. The bear had been a gift from Woolsey and Torren had taken to the soft toy immediately, carrying it everywhere with him. John had even seen the bear sitting in the bathroom whilst Torren had his bath.

Teyla stirred again and this time she woke up some more, aware that something had changed around her. John looked round as she looked over at him and her eyes dropped to Torren against him. John saw her blink her eyes to wake herself up further as she turned towards them, brushing her hair from her face.

"Is he alright?" She asked, her voice husky with sleep.

"Sure, just didn't know where he was." John replied. "He wanted to check on Charin. Said her name." John told her. "Twice."

Teyla smiled happily as she reached out and stroked her son's back, who was once again asleep. "He did?"

John nodded. "I told him he was a good brother to check on his sister." Teyla smiled again at that as she moved closer to them

"Are you happy to hold him?" She asked.

"I don't mind." John replied quickly. "He's keeping me warm." He added with a smile.

Teyla settled back against her pillow and stroked her hand over Torren's back again. A deep silence filled the tent and John lay happily enough in the darkness, Torren's soft breathing as comforting as his trusting hug as he slept. Aware he was being watched again, John turned to find Teyla's eyes on him before they dropped to Torren. He was struck by how different it felt sleeping in this tent as compared to the one they had lived in on that other planet. Here it was comfortable and relaxed. It also felt very private and cosy lying in the tent like this; both of them awake in the dead of night. It held an element of playfulness that reminded him of staying up late camping as a kid.

"The teddy bear's freaking me out a bit." He whispered to her, wishing to see her smile.

She lifted her head to look at the bear in Torren's hand, laying over John's chest staring fixedly up at him. "Is it frightening you?" She asked teasingly.

"No, I can handle it." John replied with a smile. "Takes more than that to get to Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard."

She chuckled at him. "I thought all it took was a bug?" She whispered.

He glared at her through the shadows. "Alien space bugs would scare anyone." He protested.

She smiled again, her tongue caught between her teeth as she gave him a teasing grin. "Of course." She replied. "Especially if you have turned into one before." She added.

He tried not to smile at the banter. "You're a cruel woman, Teyla."

She grinned again and she lifted her hand from Torren's back to run her fingers down John's arm. "I apologise, John. I was simply trying to distract you from the cruel stares of the teddy bear."

John smiled as he looked down at the bear and then looked closer at Torren's face. He was deeply asleep now. "I should probably put him in his bed." John suggested. "I don't want to crush him in the night."

Teyla nodded her agreement. "And who knows what the bear may do to you in the night."

He glared at her again as he lifted Torren's warm weight and carried him from the bed and, without disturbing him, settled the boy back into his small bed. After tucking the blanket around Torren securely John returned to the warmth of the bed and Teyla. Teyla lifted the blankets for him and he crawled back in. The need to hold her following their banter was a forceful need and he reached for her as the blankets settled over him.

"There was one part of the whole 'turning into a bug' incident I don't mind thinking about now." He whispered as he pulled her against his body.

"Which part would that be?" She asked, though he knew she had already guessed.

"The part where I beat you in sparring. Obviously."

His ploy had worked and she pulled back surprised and smacked him on the arm.

"Which other part did you think I meant?" He asked innocently as he ran his hands down her back, pausing to squeeze her backside briefly before running his hands back up.

"I thought it may have been your rather weak apology once you returned to yourself." She responded, surprising him.

He pulled back enough to be able to look at her face. "Weak?"

She tucked herself against him, denying the space. "Besides, you have yet to repeat your victory even once."

John slid his hands down her to her backside again, his touch lingering though he knew it would not lead anywhere, but she never minded him exploring. "I don't know, I think I might have gained a victory or two." He said as he caressed her hip.

She laughed against his chest, one of her hands sliding across his chest and she rested one leg over his, but he could tell she was only getting comfortable. She would fall asleep any minute. He decided to take full advantage of the time though. "I just realised something." He whispered to her. She made an inquiring sound. "I never got a goodnight kiss tonight."

She pulled back enough to tilt her head back and he watched her lick her lips damp. He took a moment to enjoy the sight of her before he leant in and pressed his lips to hers. The slow sleepy quality to her kiss only made it a sexier kiss for him as they lingered in tasting each other. He pulled back feeling the arousal of his body gathering; now was not the time. He was looking forward to when the doctor gave her the okay, but for now he was happy to hold her and enjoy the closeness. He touched a brief kiss to her tempting lips again and then settled back to sleep again. Her hands drifted over his chest for a minute or so before her breathing deepened.

His own eyelids were growing heavy again, but he made sure to look across the room to check Torren was still asleep before he too drifted back to sleep.

The next morning, for the first time, Torren asked out loud for his breakfast.

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TBC


	57. Carson 2

**Chapter:** 57 - Carson

**Note:** Wow, thank you guys for all your kind reviews and for sticking with me on this very long fic. It is rolling towards its conclusion, but there's a few more chapters to go yet! Thank you for all your continuing support. Wedjatqi :)

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Carson's office was quiet around him and the lab beyond it was empty. Everyone had already finished their shifts, but Carson had remained on to finish his admin. He shuffled the last of the paper reports that he had been condensing into his report, set them aside and sighed with relief. He tapped the appropriate buttons on his laptop, saving the report, and he consigned it to the correct folder on the central system, in which it would wait for Mr Woolsey to read it and then pass it along to Earth.

Carson shut down the computer and sat back in his chair. He still had some work to do, but he would leave it till tomorrow now. He looked to his right to where little Charin had fallen asleep in her little bright yellow reclining chair. Her little head was partly dropped forward, her head cushioned by the comfortable seat around her. Carson smiled down at her, studying her features as he often did, seeing the clear echoes of her parents combined to create a wholly new being. He loved his babysitting sessions, though this afternoon's had not been planned. John had been on duty when Teyla, though still on her maternity leave, had been asked by Mr Woolsey to assist in some especially demanding negotiations. Carson hadn't minded, in fact it had helped him stay in the empty office for longer. Charin provided short periods of distraction and then when she slept or played quietly he could work with renewed focus. Not for the first time he was thankful that he had chosen to return to live in Atlantis.

He was happy to be back in the city. For a long time he had been content to travel away from Atlantis, journeying from one planet to the next helping those struck down by the Hoffan plague, released by Michael, but constructed and made possible by his own work. It was a responsibility Carson knew he would always carry, for how could any Doctor not feel guilty after being involved in creating so much death and suffering?

It was bad enough that he had been partly responsible for the very creation of the original Hoffan drug, but that he had then gone on to assist Michael in nurturing that drug into a very real plague let loose on the innocent. He tried to make amends in some small way by helping the survivors, but it didn't feel like it was enough, it could never be enough. He could never return those who had been lost, but he could help with the aftermath; help the sick and needy.

It had always been his mission to help people, his wish as a doctor to help the sick to recover and once again stand on their own two feet. It was his love, his mission and now also his punishment. Yet, it was a punishment he burdened willingly, for it was his to repay as best he could.

Yet, he had missed Atlantis and his friends. He had contented himself with their brief visits and on occasion he had even been called in to help them with one crisis or another. He always enjoyed those visits for he owed them as well, for all they had done to save him and to support him, despite the ever present knowledge that he was not The Real Carson Beckett.

It was a strange fact to know that you were not the person you thought you were. He had all the memories and personality of the 'Real Carson', but he had been grown in a test tube only a few years ago. He had been manufactured by an evil Wraith genius, forced to work for the monster and through it all he had thought himself as merely a prisoner. Carson had laboured on in the face of the horror of Michael's schemes and experiments, struggling to make the Hoffan drug as stable as possible so fewer people would be hurt when Michael released it. Through it all he had always believed that his friends would eventually find him and save him. Little had he known that at the same time as he had been forced to help create evil, the 'Real Carson' had been living on happily in Atlantis until he had died an honourable death saving others. Carson had worked to help those he had hurt and to somehow, in some way, return honour to the name of Carson Beckett.

His long months of work helping the survivors of the plague had been very satisfying, until the day when Rodney had arrived with the news that both Colonel Sheppard and Teyla had been lost. Carson had been filled with sorrow and an intense feeling of regret, for he had stayed away from the city, from his friends, and had missed sharing those last years with them. He had also come to the realisation that one of the reasons why he had stayed away from Atlantis was that the city had been the home of the 'Real Carson' and it was populated with 'his' friends. Atlantis had never actually been Carson's home and he had lived longer alongside Michael than he had ever lived with his 'friends'. Yet, the loss of John and Teyla had been such a blow to him that it had been a wake up call; for he grieved for them like he had known them for years and he finally had admitted to himself that he missed his home and friends back on Atlantis.

No sooner had he reached this new conclusion that further news from Atlantis had arrived; that John and Teyla may still be alive. Carson had been filled with hope and abruptly he had felt properly connected to the city once again. Though the good news had been tempered by the fact that their survival had not been guaranteed, for it had been up to Rodney and his team to find a way to reach them. Over the following long months, through which Rodney had strived to save their friends, Carson had made any excuse to check in with Atlantis to hear of any progress. Jennifer had visited him, worried about Rodney, and Carson had begun to visit the city more to help support his friend. And when the request came through for him to join the rescue mission to find out if John and Teyla had indeed survived, it had been a turning point in Carson's life. As he had packed up his gear to leave the latest in a long line of planets he had felt a shift inside; had felt the instinctive knowledge that his life was about to change again.

He had returned to Atlantis to help save his friends and had not left since. Carson had been thrown back into the life of Atlantis filled with success, loss, courage and the wonderful puddings of the Mess Hall. He had requested quarters again and no one had argued, though he had prepared some sound arguments ready for Mr Woolsey and the IOA's questions, but they had been unnecessary. He had even been offered a small staff and a lab in which to further study the Hoffan plague and his Wraith studies. Jennifer had offered him shifts in the Infirmary and surgery bay, which he had taken her up on. Teyla had asked if he would babysit little Charin a few times and Carson now had the enjoyable regular duty of babysitting beautiful little Charin at least once a week, and sometimes Torren as well if he was in the city.

Carson's return to Atlantis had been surprisingly easy and he had felt some of his pain ease as he had finally allowed himself to stay still and be happy again. He knew he would always carry the pain of his origins and his past with him, and that he would never be the 'Real Carson', but now he could accept those truths and allow himself to live a new life in the city that he now felt was his true home. He could continue to work towards his redemption, through hopefully many years, serving in the city, helping those beyond and supporting his friends.

He regarded Charin again and smiled as she shifted in her sleep, and then from across the lab he heard the main doors open and footsteps progressing towards his open office door. Carson looked up to see John appear in the doorway, one arm still in a sling and his uniform creased from a long day on duty.

"Hey, Carson." John greeted him.

"Hallo, John." Carson had expected Teyla to pick up the little one. "I thought you were on duty till later."

John looked at his watch, which was strapped around his other wrist due to the sling. "It's seven, Carson." He said with a smile as he walked into the office.

Carson looked down at his own watch, shocked at how long he had been working here. "I didn't realise." He muttered.

John arrived by Charin's chair and smiled down at his sleeping daughter. "Sorry to leave her with you so long."

"She's no bother. In fact she made the work more enjoyable to have such refined company." John smiled, but it was clear that he was tired.

"You want a drink?" Carson asked, pointing towards his heated coffee pot set across the room. He watched John consider the offer.

"Sure, why not." He replied and Carson got up from his desk, his legs protesting at how long he had been seated. He stretched his back and legs as he walked over to the coffeepot and poured out two cups, adding a little sugar into both. As he set the cups down on his desk John pulled up a chair and sat down next to Charin.

"How's the shoulder?" Carson asked as he sat down with a sigh. He enjoyed sitting chatting with the Colonel and the man seemed more willing to sit and talk now than before his disappearance.

John reached out for the cup with a thankful nod and lifted it to his lips before replying. "It's not bad. Takes a hell of a lot longer to type reports though."

"Couldn't you get some Airman to do that for you?" Carson asked.

John gave a quirky little smile. "It's not that bad." He sat back in his seat with a sigh laced heavily with exhaustion. Carson wondered if the man needed the coffee simply to get back to his quarters.

"Any news on M89?" Carson asked. John had been injured last week after the team he had been leading had been caught up in the beginnings of a war. Atlantis had since been trying to help restore some order, without getting too involved in the alien world's politics.

"Slightly better. I spent about three hours there today listening to arguing officials, spouting out ridiculous excuses why it was okay to start a war with each other." The man's tone was especially harsh and it sounded like there was more behind his opinion than simple annoyance with politics. But, then he had been caught up and injured in the fighting. Carson decided to change the subject.

"So, I heard that Charin's getting another ceremony and feast in a couple of months?"

John smiled again finally. "Yep, you guys can come along if you want."

"Sure, if there's cake." Carson replied.

John smiled again briefly, but his attention wandered down to his daughter and he looked deeply thoughtful.

"You okay?" Carson asked after the silence lingered a little too long.

Though John and Teyla had returned from their experiences in the pocket pretty much unscathed they had both clearly been changed by what they had lived through. During the first month or so back in the city John had been rather unnerving to be around. He had exuded a protective, slightly aggressive aura that had made people wary. From the stories the two of them had shared Carson could understand why John had behaved that way, and especially so with a new wee one to protect. Now it appeared to an outside observer that John had returned to his former self, yet those who knew him best could see the changes. John moved differently; moving quieter and more carefully than before. He seemed happy to sit in silences, whereas before he would chatter away, making jokes. Now he watched and listened with a focus that Carson suspected served him pretty well in his job. When John gave you his full attention now, you felt that focus on you. He gave the impression that though he was more laid back than before, John was in truth hyper aware of everything around him. Teyla held a similar focus, but she tempered it with more emotion and thus it seemed less obvious.

As Carson studied John now, he saw that focus was turned inward. Carson waited, knowing that John would share if he wished. Either way Carson would wait. He sipped his coffee.

"Do you miss Earth, Carson?" John asked.

Carson looked down at the cup in his hand, setting the hot base into one palm, enjoying the warmth. The subject was a painful one for him, for he had been denied being able to visit his family. They all thought him dead, and though it was technically true, he still wished he could simply 'return from the dead' in their eyes, kind of like what John and Teyla had done. A sharp ache formed in his chest at the thought of never being able to see his mother again and at the strange compulsion he had to visit his own grave.

"I miss my family and Scotland." Carson offered as he looked up to John's regretful expression.

"Sorry." John offered and Carson shook away his concern.

"Do you miss Earth?" Carson asked in return.

"I prefer being here, but I've been thinking of taking Teyla and Charin for a visit. Maybe Torren too, if Kanaan doesn't mind." He sipped at his coffee again.

Carson looked down at Charin. "You have a brother back home, don't you?"

John nodded. "Yeah. I've just sent him a letter, telling him about his new niece." John added with a smile down at Charin.

"I'm sure he would love to meet her." Carson replied looking back up at the baby's father. "I'm sure Teyla would love to visit as well."

"I haven't mentioned it yet, though we've talked about it before." John replied.

"Sounds good." Carson offered, suspecting this conversation was headed somewhere, but he wasn't sure where just yet.

"I'll have to find out if they'll give her a visa or something to stay." John pondered.

"Didn't Ronon spend some time on Earth?" Carson asked, remembering Ronon's recounting of his visit and his impressions of Earth.

"That was on official business, or turned into it." John replied. "Typical that when we visited there would be something like an escaped Replicator loose on Earth."

Carson laughed at the story again. "Typical of Ronon. Or 'Wonon' as he is now known." John laughed along with Carson at Torren's pronunciation of his uncle Ronon's name. It had caught on quickly and Ronon had been haunted by it since, as they all took every opportunity to use it.

"You thinking of spending more time on Earth with your girls?" Carson asked indicating Charin. He hated the thought that perhaps John was thinking of moving his family out of the city.

"No." John answered immediately, pleasing Carson no end. He would have missed them all. "But, you know, seeing Teyla with her people last week at Charin's ceremony, it kind of got me thinking about the future."

Carson nodded. "That's understandable; you're a father now."

"I know; I found myself thinking about whether Charin could go to school on Earth. Or maybe college." Carson couldn't help smiling along with the incredulous tone of John's words. Carson also suddenly realised that there wasn't really anyone else in their close group of friends who had a child, no one for John to talk over such things as fatherhood with. He was pretty sure John's brother was unmarried and childless.

"I guess we could all be recalled back to Earth again." Carson considered. He wondered if that would be a problem for John and Teyla. Would she want to live on Earth? Or would John stay here in this galaxy with her? "What would you guys do then?" He asked.

John sipped his coffee as he met Carson's eyes over the cup and Carson had the feeling that this was the issue that John had been wondering about. "I'm not sure yet, but it might not be an issue any time soon. Though, I have to admit that I kind of like the idea of Charin living on Earth if it did happen. It seems like it might be safer than us living in the Athosian camp." Carson nodded. The Athosians did not have a good history in that regard.

John looked down at his coffee and Carson watched as he swirled it round in the cup. "I've been thinking about maybe making my relationship with Teyla a little more official." Carson tried, mostly unsuccessfully, not to smile in delight.

"Really?" He managed to ask with a level tone, but John still looked up at him with a narrow eyed smile.

"Thinking about it." He clarified.

Carson nodded.

"I was married before. It didn't go too well." John added, his serious expression returning.

Carson remembered Ronon's succinct description of John's ex-wife; 'small and pretty' had been the big man's words, as well as 'not right for him'.

"Well, every relationship is different. You and Teyla have been though a lot more than most couples will ever experience together." Carson offered.

"You can say that again." John replied with a smile as he downed the last of the coffee and Carson got the impression that sharing time was over.

"Well, if you get married or not I hope you all stay in the city as long as possible." Carson said honestly.

John set down his empty cup and smiled at him, his eye contact direct and warm. "Back at you Carson." He then turned to his sleeping daughter. "Okay, time to get this one back home." He crouched down by her, removing his injured arm from his sling and he undid the belt around her.

Carson ignored the fact that John was using his injured arm when his shoulder needed rest, but then Charin hardly weighed that much. Carson brought the carry crib over and pulled aside the blankets as John lifted Charin up and transferred her to the crib. She woke up at the movement and blinked up at them blearily.

"Hello, Munchkin. I hear you've been a good girl for your Uncle Carson." John said to her as he settled the blanket around her. Carson collapsed up her little chair, attaching it to the babysitter's bag by the straps Teyla had added. He turned back to find John had tucked his arm back into its sling. Carson stepped forward and slung the long strap of the bag over his friend's shoulder before he tried to do it himself.

"You sure you don't want me to help you carry all this back to your quarters?" Carson asked.

"I'll be fine." John lifted up Charin's crib in his good hand. "Say thank you to Uncle Carson." He said softly down to Charin.

Carson leant down to take hold of Charin's tiny hands. Her unusual green eyes sparkled up at him. "Bye, Bye, Charin. You can come and visit anytime."

"Thanks, Carson." John added warmly as he moved towards the office door, only to pause and turn back. "What I said about the whole marriage thing…"

"I won't say a word to anyone." Carson promised.

"See you tomorrow." John replied with a smile, before he turned and disappeared through the doorway, chatting away to his daughter as he left.

Carson stood for a moment feeling the weight of his sudden loneliness left alone in the empty lab and office. He shook himself out of the sad thoughts and busied himself collecting up his things and headed out of the office and lab.

"Carson!" A voice rang down the corridor behind him and he turned to see Rodney hurrying towards him.

"What is it Rodney?" He asked instantly worried.

"You headed to the Mess Hall?" Rodney asked as he arrived beside him and Carson relaxed.

"I guess I should get something to eat." Carson added, remembering that it was considerably later than he had realised.

"I'm meeting Ronon there." Rodney said hopefully as they headed down the corridor together. "I thought, maybe you'd want to join us." Carson was touched at Rodney's continuing efforts to make him feel welcome back in the city.

"That would be lovely, thank you Rodney."

"Well, it was Ronon's idea really. He got in late from visiting whatever that planet is where they make all the weaponry."

"Ahh. Some new weaponry for Wonon." Carson added with a smile.

------  
TBC


	58. Teyla 17

**Chapter:** 58 - Teyla

**Note: **Because you all asked for it and have been waiting so patiently; here is a nice long chapter on a particular moment for John and Teyla. Please remember to note the rating of this fic before reading this chapter (if the pervious sentence wasn't enough of a hint). Also: I was inspired by a line from a Friends episode for one particular scene.

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A rapid bleeping sound brought Teyla out of her sleep to the darkness of their room. The pillow was wonderfully soft under her cheek, the mattress comfortable and the blankets warm over her back. Her entire body felt heavy with deep relaxation and she happily drifted back to sleep.

The bleeping started again and she cracked open her eyes once again, consciousness properly returning. The room was dark with early morning and beside her John stirred, moving his warmth away from her. She lifted her head from the pillow assessing the bleeping sound, to finally identify it as John's alarm clock. Happy she wasn't needed for anything she closed her eyes and relaxed her cheek back down to the pillow. She felt good, for last night had been the best night's sleep she had had in a while. Charin had caught a cold last week and feeling unwell had woken her parents every hour or so for several nights in a row. They had tried taking turns with her, but the instincts from the past seemed make it next to impossible for one of them to sleep whilst the other moved around. But, Charin had recovered and was now sleeping deeply again and had even slept for over six hours at a stretch for the last two nights. That had allowed Teyla and John to catch up on some of their own sleep.

John groaned slightly as the alarm went off again and Teyla looked in his direction to see his vague outline through the darkness as he sat up and turned to sit on the edge of the bed. She heard his hand land on the alarm clock with more force than was necessary. Across the room Teyla heard the bathroom door slide open, the light flickering to life from inside, sending a gentle half light through the darkness. It was John's normal morning routine when Torren wasn't here. When Torren was staying they left a small lamp on across the room in case he woke up in the night. When Torren was back with Kanaan, as he was now, they turned the lamp off, and in the morning when John woke he would mentally activate the bathroom light and open the door, spilling just enough light into the quarters for him to ready himself for work, but not disturb Teyla or Charin.

Teyla didn't feel like she wanted to go back to sleep just yet and so slid one hand under her cheek to prop herself up a little further as she relaxed. The bathroom light provided enough light for her to see John sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to her. He was running a hand through his hair and she smiled softly at his clear reluctance to get up. He rolled his shoulders and sighed as he reached back and pulled off his shirt. Teyla dropped her gaze down to the back of his left shoulder, over which, even through the half light, she could still see the residual shadow of bruising. His shoulder had recovered, but the bruises were taking their time to fade. He dropped his shirt onto his pillow and she caught his profile in the bathroom light.

He hadn't noticed she was awake as he turned away again and stood up, stretching his back as he did. She watched him as he moved away, as he lifted his hands to the back of his head and flexed his upper back. She was pleased to see his shoulder was clearly no longer paining him, despite the bruises. He wandered forward into the channel of light spilling from the bathroom and she admired his lean muscular form as he disappeared into the bathroom, the door sliding shut behind him. She reached out and pulled his shirt from his pillow, absently spreading it out for it to air. His scent lingered on the material and in the bed beside her and she moved forward further onto her belly, lying in the warmth he had left trapped within the sheets on his side of the bed. Her body hummed with pleasure at the sensations and she looked back towards the closed bathroom door, anticipating seeing him again. He would be in the shower by now. Imagines of him wetted down increased the warmth of her body and she smiled at her abrupt arousal.

She had always found John very attractive, but over the past two months following Charin's birth, Teyla had lost some of her sexual drive. She had not worried about it, for it was natural when caring for a newborn. This morning however, it appeared that her libido had decided to reassert itself. She hadn't planned to visit the Infirmary for her and Charin's check until the end of the week, but decided that perhaps she would go today.

The bathroom door opened again and Teyla remained still as she watched John walk over to the drawers and wardrobe across the far side of their quarters. The morning sunlight was beginning to glow in through the curtains over the windows, so she could see he wore only a towel wrapped around his waist and was he rubbing another towel over his hair.

She was pretty sure he was on duty till six o'clock tonight, so that would give her plenty of time to complete her chores, visit the Infirmary, find a sitter and gather some dinner for them from the Mess Hall so that they could have a private dinner here tonight. John pulled out his fresh uniform and dumped both his towels over the back of a nearby chair as he turned to dressing. Teyla smiled appreciatively at his nudity, feeling a little disappointed as he quickly pulled on his boxers and trousers. Dog tags over his head and his shirt was on. He moved quickly around, gathering up his jacket, his watch and sat down to pull on his boots. He moved amazingly quietly she noted.

Fully dressed and ready for work he was moving across the room towards the side table on which sat their radios. She watched him pick up his ear piece, turning it in his fingers as he approached the bed. As he neared she rolled over onto her back looking up at him.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" He asked quietly as he leant over the bed.

"No." She replied. His hands rested on either side of her and he lowered his lips to hers. His presence over her instantly electrified her senses, but she made sure to control how much of that was communicated in her kiss. She wasn't entirely successful, as he when he pulled back he paused a few inches over her and smiled before leaning down and kissing her quickly again. "See you later." He whispered.

"What time does your shift finish today?" She asked, resisting the urge to pull him back down over her as he stood up from the bed.

"Six. You want to meet up in the Mess Hall?" He asked as he hooked the radio around his ear into its customary place.

"Can we meet up here first?" She suggested. He nodded as he moved out of her field of view, moving towards Charin's crib.

"I'll be back after six sometime, then." He added as he reappeared, having said a quiet good morning to his daughter.

"See you later." She called back softly as he headed for the door. The doors parted, the corridor's brighter lighting briefly filling her view. He looked back with a wink before the doors slid shut between them.

Teyla laid quietly for awhile trying to fall asleep again, but her body was certainly not feeling sleepy anymore. Admitting defeat she got up and set about dressing and then preparing Charin's things for the day ahead. Charin woke some time later and after her breakfast Teyla headed to the Mess Hall for her own.

Once she had eaten she headed up to Mr Woolsey's office to finish their discussion on the final stages of the negotiations she had assisted him with. He cuddled Charin as they talked through the arrangements of the trade and once that was finalised she carried Charin down to the Infirmary to see if they could see a doctor today for their checks. A friendly female doctor who worked with Jennifer agreed to see her in a few minutes if she was happy to wait, which gave Teyla the time to quickly nip into Jennifer's office to see if she would babysit later this evening. Jennifer was only too happy to oblige, since lately it had been Carson and Ronon who had been sitting for Charin the most. Teyla agreed to bring Charin to her at half four and headed off to have her check with the doctor.

Teyla was checked all over first, whilst Charin slept. The doctor gave her a full bill of health. Next it was Charin's turn. They laid her under the Ancient scanner and everything came back normal. The doctor then went through the usual checks of Charin's reflexes, hearing and eyesight. Teyla answered all the questions on Charin's health and was glad to hear that the cold had completely gone. Charin, though grumpy by the end of the exam, was also announced completely healthy. She had put on a good amount of weight, and though still slightly smaller than normal, the doctor felt that Charin was simply a petite baby. Since Teyla was of a petite build, the doctor suggested it was most likely that Charin would be of a similar build to her. Charin's weight was good for her size and it was clear she was thriving. Pleased Teyla left the Infirmary in high spirits.

She spent the rest of the morning working through her routines, working her body and burning away some of the residual sexual energy from watching John this morning. She was admittedly eager for tonight, for she had missed their physical relationship and though a little nervous that everything would be alright between them, she also found herself wondering how tonight would go. In the camp they had first enjoyed a rather intense sexual relationship, formed out of moments shared in the darkness of the tent, tense and concerned they could be interrupted at any moment. It had been intense and very satisfying. They had immersed themselves in the passionate moments with a desperation borne of their perilous life and the need for each other that they had suppressed for many years. She had enjoyed the slightly wild nature of those encounters, letting down her inhibitions with him and enjoying the raw physical pleasure they had shared.

Then when they had learnt she was pregnant, that had changed. At first she had had to encourage him into love making, for he had been worried about hurting her and the baby, and considering how weak she had been at the start she had understood. Their love making from then onwards had been more measured, slower and more caring, and she had enjoyed many nights with his fingers gently trailing over her body. She had enjoyed that side to their relationship, but she had also missed the more wild side of their natures and had thought he had felt the same. Now, there would be no constraints and finally, as they had often dreamt about, they had complete privacy and safety. She was looking forward to this new stage in their intimate relationship.

Rather warm from her wandering thoughts she had trained harder until lunchtime, which she spent in the Mess Hall at first talking with Carson and Rodney, and then with others who stopped by her table to talk and dote over Charin.

By the time she had returned to her quarters to feed Charin it was almost four. She packed everything Charin would need into the babysitting bag and prepared a bottle of her milk to replace the one in the fridge, which she removed and slid into a pocket of the bag. Everything ready she headed out with Charin at half past four. Jennifer was waiting in the Infirmary with Rodney. Teyla secretly suspected that Jennifer was hoping to encourage Rodney to like children some more by involving him in babysitting. Teyla talked with them briefly before excusing herself, saying she had to pick up some things. She made her way to the Mess Hall which was only just starting to serve dinner. Teyla selected two plates of food that would keep till later and selected two slices of John's favourite chocolate cake which they happened to be serving tonight.

Once back in her quarters she set the covered plates aside and put the cake slices in the fridge. She had at least an hour to herself and she decided she would have a bath. She had been given a wonderful scented bath mix by Athea, an Athosian highly skilled in working with herbs. She had made up the previous mix which had helped with Teyla's healing and now this mix was designed to soothe and relax. Teyla dropped pieces of the mix into the hot water as the bath filled. The herbs and white red speckled flower petals broke away from the thick nourishing mixture, which was made from pounding certain nuts and buds into a thick paste, which dissolved slowly into the water. The wonderful smells rose up into the air with the steam as Teyla undressed. She left the door to the bathroom open, so that the delicate scents would drift out into the main room. She slid down into the hot water, the herbs and the soft water instantly relaxing her further. Sighing happily she rested her head back against the small waterproof pillow on the side, closed her eyes and savoured it all.

She lay quietly enjoying the warmth until, in an oddly parallel moment from a month or so ago, she heard the main doors to the quarters open. She opened her eyes looking towards the open bathroom door.

"Hello?" She called out.

"It's me." John called back. Teyla looked over to the small clock John kept near the wash basin; it was just six. She had not expected him home for at least another half an hour, as she knew what it was like in the city; nothing ran to time.

"You're early." She called back, her deep relaxation transmuting instantly back into the arousal that had been simmering all day long.

"Been real quiet today and I got everything done." His voice drew closer to the open bathroom door as he spoke and she remembered the last time this had happened.

"You having a bath?" He asked; apparently he had also remembered last month. She smiled at the caution in his voice.

"You can come in; there are some bubbles this time." She said back as a nice plan began forming in her mind.

He peered around the doorway, keeping himself mostly out of the room. "I don't see that many bubbles, Teyla." He said with a smile, though his eyes remained mostly on her face she noted.

She looked down at the surface of the water as if assessing the amount of bubbles. "I guess not."

He looked back out into the room. "Where's Charin?" She thought he was purposefully not looking at her now.

"Jennifer is watching her this evening. I thought we could have an evening alone together." She put just enough innuendo in it to catch his interest and he looked back round at her. "There's some dinner out there, I was going to set it up for us for when you got in." She told him.

He looked back over his shoulder into the main room, looking round for the dinner plates. "I can set it up." He offered.

"If you wish." She replied as she stirred the bathwater around her.

"You gonna be in there long?" He asked and she looked up to find his eyes back on her, and she could see the appreciative interest in them.

"I haven't been in here that long and I wouldn't want to waste any of Athea's gift." She smiled at him and saw a light frown flicker over his face before he moved further into the room. His closer position afforded him a better view over her in the bath and she watched his eyes drop to her wet shoulders, then across the water, but she knew the bath mixture obscured her from his view beneath the water. "You could always join me." She offered with relish.

His eyes immediately lifted back up to meet hers. "Really?" He asked after a pause, his voice a little raspy and she understood his implied question.

She simply nodded in return, smiling up at him to let him know she would like him to join her.

His eyes dropped to the bath around her. "Okay."

Teyla moved forward through the water. "I will add some more hot water." She released the drainage plug and when the water level dropped enough she closed it again and set fresh hot water falling into the bath. John had disappeared from the doorway, only to return a few moments later, undressed down to his shirt and trousers. She added some more of the bath mixture to the water, breaking it up between her fingers under the surface to help it dissolve faster. John stripped out of the last of his clothes and climbed into the bath behind her.

Teyla shut off the water and once he was settled enough she moved backwards into his embrace. His body was warm against her back and his arms encircled her, pulling her back tightly against his chest. He let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm not really a bath kind of guy, but this is nice." His hands settled around her waist, his legs bumping against hers and she rested her head back against his shoulder. He felt wonderful against her and the heat of him and the bath combined almost made her feel lightheaded. She stroked her hands down his arms encircling her and sighed herself.

They hadn't been in such direct skin to skin contact in awhile and she had missed it so very much, and judging by the feel of his aroused hardness against her hip, he had as well. She shifted in his embrace, rubbing the length of her body against his. He made a rumbling sound against her throat and shifted his own position, pulling his knees up to find a more comfortable position.

She reached out through the water and trailed a hand over one of his thighs. His skin was warm and textured with hair and thick muscle. His own hands began to wander, sliding up her sides, gently caressing.

"I could get used to this." He uttered against her shoulder.

She smiled. "I thought you were not a 'bath man'?"

"It's the wet naked lady part I'm more interested in." He replied, his hands brushing the outer swells of her breasts. She sighed, gently lingering in the warm space between arousal and relaxation.

John pressed his nose and lips against her throat, sliding his way up to her ear. "So I take it you visited the doctor today?" He asked.

"I did." She replied and his hands briefly tightened around her waist and before caressing up and down her belly again. "I am all healed up." She reported, though she knew he had already understood.

"So, we've got the evening alone together?" He asked against her ear, sending chills down her spine. One of his hands circled her belly and dipped lower only to slide off to her hip and down her thigh. She bent her leg and his hand slid up to the inside of her bent knee.

"Yes, we do." She replied, though she was already finding it more difficult to talk. His other hand trailed up from her belly to caress the undersides of her breasts. She sighed through the light steam. Her body pulsed with longing, so long denied her and so close to being satisfied. His body, solid and loving, seemed to surround her, the water magnifying the sensations over her sensitive skin.

He caressed her knee before gently pressed her leg outwards, until it fell against his own bent knee. Teyla looked down at their two knees protruding slightly from the cloudy water; hers smaller and darker than his. She ran her hand back up his thigh, grazing her nails over his skin and hair, tracing the contours of his body. His fingers slid lower along her inner thigh, his hand disappearing into the water again and she whimpered in anticipation.

"I've missed you, Teyla." He whispered against her ear as his palm slid down her thigh, finally to reach the junction of her legs and she gasped as he cupped his hand over her intimately. The extra heat of his palm permeated into her and she moaned.

She turned her face towards him, her cheek brushing against his as she sought out his mouth. As they kissed, lips sliding wetly over each other and tongues tasting, his fingers parted her and slid over her core. Moaning again she pulled her mouth away from his. He repeated his caress, ever so gently, and she closed her eyes at the sensation. "You okay?" He asked quietly. She nodded as she bit her lower lip and opened her eyes to look up at him.

"I have missed you too." She told him and he leant in to kiss her again. His mouth slid from her lips, across her cheek and as she rested her head back against his shoulder again, he kissed down her throat.

"Tell me if it's too much." He whispered as he quested deeper into her core. She could hear his concern over his desire, so she nodded and ran her hands over the areas of him she could reach under the water; sliding one hand down his side and the other over his arm that was lying over her; his skilled fingers pleasuring her. He inhaled deeply against her throat and latched his mouth onto her skin tightly. She groaned and arched against him in response. His fingers danced over her breasts, massaging gently one and then the other, whilst his other hand began pressing deeper and wider into her. She gasped and he pulled his mouth from her abruptly.

"What is it?" She asked around her rapid breathing.

He pressed his closed lips back against her throat. "I almost gave you a love bite." He said with laughter in his voice. "I don't think you wanna walk around the city with that showing." She was oddly tempted to ask him to, but stopped herself; life was different here than it had been on that other planet. But, as she had always enjoyed the marks he gave her, enjoyed the way his mouth always felt on her, she dropped her head forward, pulling her hair away from the back of her neck.

"My hair will hide them here." She told him.

He made an amused sound, but he still bent forward over her neck and his mouth traced lightly down to her shoulders and up again, and she closed her eyes at the sensation. His kiss on the back of her neck became stronger as he sucked on her skin and he pushed up deeper into her. She gasped, reaching out to hold onto him, feeling her nails biting into his flesh. The pleasure was almost to breaking point, but she was reluctant to allow it to crest just yet. He broke his mouth from her neck, breathing over her skin and she shifting in his arms. She carefully moved, turning in his arms, his fingers pulled gently from her. The water swirled around her as she pressed her front up against his chest, his arms surrounding her again.

She met his gaze to find it clouded with arousal, his eyes hooded and his lips full. She smiled at him as she lifted herself over him, straddling his lap. He shuffled around, bringing his legs down and together to support her and he pulled her against him with a groan of pleasure. She returned the sound as she lay against his lightly haired chest, the sensations wonderful against her nipples, and she kissed him.

He kissed her deeply, taking what he wanted and she thrilled in his need, for it echoed her own. His hands slid down to her backside pulling her to him until she could feel the head of his arousal against her.

"Yes." She gasped as she broke her lips from his.

He smiled against her cheek, and then rocked his body forward, tilting her backwards slightly in the water. She wrapped her arms around him to hold on and heard him pull the plug and the water began to drain. "I want to see all of you." He whispered as he sat back upright. Teyla's body was burning and the cool air that hit her skin as the water level quickly dropped around them was oddly enjoyable.

John turned slightly, reached out of the bath with one long arm to pull open a drawer in the stand nearby and began digging around inside. She watched as he pulled out a large box of condoms and pulled out one packet. She smiled at the box and he caught her smile as he tore open the packet.

"Are you sure we have enough?" She asked him with a teasing smile.

He looked back at the large box as he tossed the empty foil packet aside. "It'll get us started." He replied with a cheeky smile as he reached for her, pulling her fully against his now entirely exposed body. She lifted herself up over him, the last of the water draining away, and slowly, ever so slowly, she lowered herself onto him.

He groaned along with her as he slid gradually deeper into her, his arms supporting her as they clung to each other.

"Besides," he panted. "I have another box in the bedroom drawer." She laughed and he pushed himself deeper, right to the hilt, and she gasped in delight.

She held herself abruptly still, aware that she was on the precipice. Her skin was so sensitive; her damp back rapidly cooling against the bathroom air, whilst her front was burning hot against him.

"Teyla." He groaned into her throat.

She rocked herself against him, the wild untamed need in her belly urging her to move, to take, to enjoy. Yet, she didn't want it to end so soon. John's hands slid down her slides and clasping her hips he lifted her and thrust slowly into her again and she moaned loudly. She dropped her head back, her nails digging into his shoulders as she tried to hold on, to feel everything and ready to fall all at once.

"Oh, John." She begged, whether it was to ask him for fulfilment, for him to slow down, speed up or just an exclamation she wasn't sure, but she heard him chuckle before he licked her throat again and ground himself into her, his hands pulling her hips against him. She groaned and he repeated the action and she reciprocated, grinding back against him as she opened her eyes and looked down at him. He looked up at her with clear anticipation, watching her, wanting her, and pushing her. She tried to hold on, but he slid one hand round to her belly and ran the backs of his fingers down to her where they met and he caressed her in just the right spot.

She flew apart, arching her back, dropping her head back, his free arm around her and she groaned long and hard, her pleasure streaking through her body. But, even as she crested that wave, she knew she had more inside to feel.

She opened her eyes to the ceiling above them and flattened her hands against John's chest. His hands tightened around her hips and he lifted her, pulling her from his thickness. She looked down at him, seeing that he wasn't looking to finish this any time soon either. She dropped her eyes to his lips and leant back against him as fully she could and kissed him. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and the wild sensations of love making she remembered from before once again returned. She could feel his hunger, his want and could feel his heart hammering in his chest under her palms.

He pulled back from the kiss. "Bed." He stated.

She nodded as she climbed up from him and out of the bath, her body slow in its movements so close after its release. His hands steadied her briefly as he too stepped out of the bath. She reached for a large towel and wrapped it around her, but before she could hand him one, he dipped and lifted her up by her backside. She laughed as he carried her out of the bathroom on his hip and she wrapped her legs around him to help stabilise them.

They reached the bed and John dropped her onto the large soft mattress. She laughed as she bounced briefly. She pulled the towel out from under her as she scooted backwards, making space for him. He crawled forward onto the mattress, up over her. She ran the towel over his chest as he leant down over her. His mouth descended on hers and they kissed long and hard as he pressed his still damp body over hers. She lifted her legs around him, urging him back to where he had been. He pulled back though, lifting up from her to kneel between her legs. He reached for her hips and pulled her backside up onto his thighs. She met his eyes and smiled at his choice; a clear repetition of the position they had used when they had made love for the first time; hurried and desperate on that first night in the tent.

"There's no one just outside anymore." He told her, his voice deep, as he slid his hands down her sides and up again, shuffling her into position. "We can make as much noise as we want." He added and she returned his smile.

She settled her backside on his thick thighs and he leant a little over her, one hand parting her and he pushed into her. She gasped as he slid in and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He thrust into her, the position deep and satisfying. She groaned as she flexed her body in his supporting hands.

He groaned in response and slid one hand down over her belly, down to stroke over her breasts. "Louder, Teyla." He whispered. So, she groaned again, louder than normal, for him. He smiled in response. "Louder."

She moaned "John." He thrust deeply again, moaning himself at the sensation. She watched him experiencing his pleasure and she tightened her hands around his wrists. He understood her request and leant down over her, curling her up under him. She reached up to his lowering head and slid her fingers through his hair, pulling his mouth to hers. She licked into his mouth and gently bit his lower lip. He shuffled his hips, pulling out of her, releasing her backside back down to the bed and then he was over her again, sliding into her and she gasped in pleasure.

He kissed her deeply as he pushed into her, and she lifted her legs around his hips, panting now with the sensations. He nibbled on her chin, jaw and kissed down to her throat as he thrust into her, rocking them rhythmically and she tightened her hands on him, biting her fingers into his muscles, her nails into his skin.

"God, Teyla." He uttered as he held her to him, forcing himself into her and withdrawing in equal measure.

"So good, so good. John." She chanted. "John." He ground in and she stared up at him, meeting his eyes as he thrust again and her body exploded with sensation. She cried out loudly, allowing herself to shout out her pleasure as she had never done before. She was aware that it was a loud guttural animal sound and that John seemed to reply, growling deep in his chest as he thrust into her and she felt his body stiffen. She opened her eyes and stared up at him, fascinated at the depths of his eyes before they almost literally rolled back in his head. He cried out her name and ground his groin against hers, forcing them even tighter together. She dug her nails into his backside, tightened her legs around him even tighter, holding him to her, drawing out the moment for them both as long as she could.

He gasped above her, his body releasing its last and he grew abruptly heavy over her. She arched her back one last time, releasing a long held breath and released her tight grip on him. She wrapped her arms and legs around his body, cradling him. He slid his arms under her shoulders, holding her in return as they both panted and twitched together through their aftermath. His body was hot and heavy over hers, their fast breathing pressing them even closer together, and she loved it.

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TBC


	59. John 17

**Chapter **59 - John

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Their dinner had been cold by the time they had gotten to it, but they hadn't cared. John slid the two empty plates together and set them on the top of fridge before crouching down and opening the door. Enjoying the brief wash of cool air he peered longingly at the two slices of chocolate cake sitting on the top shelf. He reached in and broke off another small section away from one of the thick slices and lifted it to his mouth. He murmured appreciatively at the glorious taste; how great was it that today of all days they were serving his favourite cake?

He smiled as he shut the fridge door, hiding the rest of the tempting cake away. He would eat the rest later after Teyla got back with Charin. With that in mind he headed over to the bathroom. As he entered he glanced over at the bathtub amused to see flower petals still clinging to the sides from their earlier bath. He pulled up his sleeves and rinsed the petals away. The herbal smells that drifted up to him instantly took him back to the sight that had greeted him when he had peered around the door only a few hours ago; Teyla all smiling and flushed, barely covered by the scented milky water.

His body felt wonderfully warm and deeply satisfied, his limbs were heavy and relaxed as he stood up from the site of their earlier antics. He moved to the washbasin and wiped it down as well, though whatever material the Ancient washbasin was made out of repelled pretty much everything, he still liked to clean it down before they bathed Charin. He plugged the basin and, with a thought directed towards the tall alien tap, warm water flowed down into the basin. He added a few splashes of the baby bath wash, mixing it in with one hand as he tested the temperature of the water as the basin gradually began to fill.

Steam rose gently to slowly cloud the mirror and he caught his own reflection staring back at him. He couldn't help smiling at his clearly relaxed and satisfied expression. The water level reached mid forearm and he shut off the water and swirled his hand around a little more. By the time Teyla got back from Keller's the water temperature would be just right for Charin. He dried his hands on a soft warm towel, before pulling out one of Charin's little towels, laying it out ready for later. Everything ready he looked back at himself in the mirror and his gaze dropped down to the reflection of his left shoulder. He turned as he pulled aside the neckline of his shirt to reveal the back of his shoulder in the mirror. The mottled bruising still decorated his skin, but it was considerably better than it had been. The memories resurfaced.

He had been leading a team to check on the status of one of their new potential trading partners. Unfortunately a war, which had been brewing for years, had started at the exact time his team had arrived. They had just been greeted by the local politician when the attack had begun. Arrows and spears had whistled through the air in a massive wave, embedding in the ground around them. A few people standing nearby had not been so lucky.

John had shouted an immediate retreat to his people, but as he did he had heard the new sound behind him. He had turned in time to see the flash of darkness headed down towards him. He had turned and ducked to get out of its path, but the flat heavy stone had still caught the back of his shoulder. The weight of it had shoved him down to the damp ground, knocking the wind out of him. As he had lain there, in the few seconds it had taken him to regain his breath and mental focus, he had realised that had he not turned the stone would certainly have hit him in the back of his head. He could have been killed. It wasn't an entirely new thought for him, in fact he had had that very realisation more times than he cared to remember. In fact he kind of liked those moments, for they were thoughts only a survivor could worry over. However, this time this thought had been followed abruptly with the realisation that he wouldn't have seen Teyla or Charin again.

Those thoughts had flashed through his mind so fast that by the time he had regained his focus he had been able to push them aside. He had stood, a helpful hand assisting him for the first second, his body working and his mind focused again. He had gotten the rest of the team to cover and they had rushed through the local forest undergrowth heading back towards the Gate. Fortunately they had been pretty much left alone on the way back, though they had had to avoid a few battle areas, but it had appeared no one had considered them as important targets.

John rearranged his shirt and looked away from his reflection. For the days following his injury he had been hunted by those thoughts of being only half an inch away from leaving Teyla alone to bring up Charin. It wasn't so much that it could happen, but that if it did what would she do? He had decided to draw up a proper Will. He already had the basic empty one he had left before, as standard procedure, if something happened to him. It basically gave his things to certain people and his money partly to the Airforce and to several charities he supported. Now, however, he realised he had to change all that. He had a daughter to provide for and Teyla to support, if something were to happen to him.

He had a modest amount of money in several savings accounts back on Earth. After five years of wages, including hazardous duty and interest, with little expense paid out, it was a reasonable amount. His father had, unexpectedly, left him several of the family owned properties. Dave had explained that their father had understood by the end that John wouldn't have wanted anything linked to the family business, so instead had chosen properties for him. They were reasonably large homes which had long term tenants whom John had been happy to let stay. A lawyer assigned to him by the SGC and Airforce had helped him arrange, via conversations over the Gate, the paperwork. Dave had drawn up most of it and John's lawyer had checked them over. John had made sure Dave received some of the rent, as he would be the letting agent's contacts for the properties.

John had contacted that same lawyer again two days ago, to draw up a new Will. The woman had been as efficient as before as he described to her the changes he wished to make. He left the properties, or the sum of them, to Teyla to use as she wished. He had formed a Trust fund for Charin, that when she was older would be released to her for college or whatever. He left the remaining of his current assets to the Airforce, charities and some to Dave. The lawyer had drawn it all up carefully and had subtly asked on the status of Teyla's relationship to him. He had told her that no status needed to be applied, but he had wanted to tell her it might be subject to change in the future. He didn't want it to matter if they were married or not for the Will, but he knew that those on Earth, especially his family, would understand him leaving the majority of his money to a wife over a girlfriend.

He had told Teyla that he had arranged his assets back home in case anything happened to him. She had simply smiled and said he should do what he felt was best. He knew she didn't really understand how much he had back home now, and he also knew it didn't matter. He wasn't sure what she would do with the money that would be left for her on Earth, for it wouldn't mean anything to her in this galaxy, but it would provide resources for her in dealing with Earth. If she chose to live on Earth then she would have all she needed for her and Charin and Torren as well.

Outside the bathroom he heard the main doors open and Teyla enter. He tested the water in the basin again and added a little more hot water. He knew asking Teyla to marry him wasn't really because of any legal issues, but at the same time he was concerned that if something did happen to him and if she wanted to live on Earth, or even simply visit, that she would have a legal standing. As his wife she would be allowed to live in America and would have every right she and his daughter deserved. He had made sure to check that with the Lawyer.

"We are back." Teyla called out from the main room. He wiped off his hands again once he was happy with the water and left the bathroom, smiling over at Teyla, only to see she was putting away a bottle of her milk into the fridge.

"Didn't she have her dinner?" He asked as he approached them.

Teyla turned to him with a smiling look that suggested she had seen the missing pieces of chocolate cake. "She has only just woken up. Jennifer said Rodney was entertaining Charin earlier and she fell asleep later than expected."

"Rodney was looking after her?" John had been on his way to kiss Teyla hello, but instantly became concerned, peering down into the carry crib. Charin looked happy enough, with no obvious injuries or dents to her head.

"He is fine with her." Teyla assured him.

"He dropped Torren." John protested as he took the carry crib from her, looking down at Charin worriedly.

"Jennifer was there with him and besides he knows how to handle a baby now. Everyone starts out nervous." She moved to him, pressing herself momentarily up against him, reaching up on her toes and kissed his cheek. His body responded instantly to her touch, still thrilled at their renewed physical relationship. She smiled up at him brightly as she peeled herself away from him again. "Shall we watch a movie as you suggested? I can feed Charin whilst we watch it."

"I'll give her her bath first." He offered. He always enjoyed his time with Charin, making sure he spent time with her everyday and Teyla always seemed to be busy elsewhere leaving him time alone with his daughter.

"I will set everything up then." Teyla replied as she moved away. "We can have the chocolate cake as well, that is if you have not eaten all of it." She teased with a sparkle in her eye.

John set down the carry crib. "You're the one who made me hungry." He pointed out with a smug smile before he turned his attention to Charin. She was staring up at him, with her large curious eyes. "Hey, Munchkin." He uttered and as usual she smiled. He freed her from the crib and lifted her out. "Did Uncle Rodney take proper care of you?" He asked her as he carried her over to the changing table.

"Jennifer said he was showing her some flashcards that are supposed to improve child development." Teyla told him from across the room.

John shook his head as he set about removing Charin's clothes and nappy. "You take no notice of Uncle Rodney, you're perfect as you are." John told her.

"He did the same with Torren. I think Torren used to enjoy it." Teyla added.

John lifted Charin up from the changing table and she began kicking her legs, free of her restrictive clothing and aware that her bath was on the way. He carried her towards the bathroom, whilst in his mind he was already designing some joke flashcards he would use on Rodney. "You mean 'odney'." John said with a smile as he passed Teyla, using Torren's pronunciation of Rodney's name.

In the bathroom Charin made a bright happy noise as he carried her to the basin. He tested the water again and carefully eased Charin into the water. She went still as he lowered her into the water and once he settled her along his forearm she beamed again. There was a pool in the lower levels of the city which everyone had started using following the final repairs to the lower levels. He wondered when you could first take a baby swimming. He seemed to remember there being something about babies being able to instinctively swim until a certain age.

"I'll have a talk with Carson tomorrow." He told Charin softly. "See if we can take you swimming. Would you like that?" He asked her as she gazed trustingly up at him. "We can go swimming then, splash around in a real big pool." He said as she kicked her legs. He washed her over, wiping water from her eyes as he washed her hair, and when the bath was almost over he blew raspberries into her neck. She made little sharp happy noises in response and gripped his hair tightly. By then the water was cooling down and a large amount of it had soaked into John's shirt. He lifted her out, and as usual she complained, but he quickly lowered her onto her towel and wrapped her up, tickling her feet and tummy as he did. He dried her, making it a game as it usually was for them both. She smiled and waved her arms happily as he carried her back into the main room.

He dressed her in a new nappy and her night clothes. She lay reasonably still watching him as he muttered away to her about when he had learnt to swim as a kid. He left out his rather traumatic young childhood memory of being pushed into the deep end of a pool by Dave. Once she was ready he picked her up and turned to find Teyla had set up the sitting area ready for their movie. She had turned one of the comfortable chairs round so that she could recline along the others, the laptop sat on the table and beside it stood the baby monitor for later and one slice of chocolate cake. He handed Charin over to her.

"Which movie are we gonna watch?" He asked as he turned away to quickly change into his own night clothes.

"You choose." She replied.

He turned to the three discs that he had borrowed from the city's selection. All three movies were new so he didn't know if they were any good, but two of them were of the action/thriller genres and he didn't really think that was the mood of the evening. So, he selected the romantic comedy that he had borrowed for Teyla. Walker had said it was funny, so it would do. He carried the disc over to the sitting area to find Teyla had opened her night shirt and Charin was already nursing. He slid the disc into the laptop and moved to sit next to Teyla opposite the laptop's screen. Teyla lifted her legs as he said down and then draped them over his lap. He moved closer to her, arranging her blanket over her legs, tucking it around her bare feet by his thigh. As the trailers began he reached forward for the plate holding the chocolate cake.

"You want some?" He asked her. Teyla looked up from Charin and shook her head. "You sure?" He asked lifting a forkful, waving it temptingly. "It's really good." He slid the full forkful into his mouth and hummed with pleasure. She laughed at him, but when he lifted a forkful towards her, she sat up from her pile of cushions to take the fork between her lips. John watched the cake disappear into her mouth and her tongue lick the crumbs from her lips. She murmured her enjoyment as she sat back with Charin. He smiled, tempted to offer her another piece just to watch her eat it, but refrained since she was busy looking after Charin, so he returned his attention to the trailers and finishing off his cake. Once he had scraped up every tiny morsel from the plate he set it aside, dimmed the room lights with a brief thought, and slid his hands under the blanket to stroke Teyla's legs draped over his lap.

The movie was pretty good, and oddly a little familiar; a story about a guy who was secretly in love with his female best friend. By the time he realised she had already found some European guy. John smiled at the irony of the story, the funny lines and at Teyla's laughter. She asked several questions about what she was seeing of Earth culture, and he explained certain jokes to her as she didn't understand the background. But, after a while she stopped asking questions as they were drawn into the story. He felt good sitting here, his legs propped up on the table beside the laptop and Teyla's warmth over him. He absently stroked his hand up and down one of her calves and then the other, enjoying the simple touch of her smooth skin. His body, warm and satisfied from earlier, was once again waking up and he was aware that more of his attention was focused on touching her, feeling her next to him, than on the movie.

Realising she hadn't laughed for awhile he looked round wondering if she had fallen asleep. Her shirt was still open, the flickering light playing over her skin. Charin lay against her, one tiny cheek pressed against the top of one of Teyla's bared breasts. Charin gazed sleepily up at her mother, her eyes bright and blissful as she fought against the lull of sleep. Teyla's fingers stroked over Charin's head softly and slowly, over and over, soothing her child. The tiny expression on Charin's face was contented and happy as she nuzzled her cheek against Teyla's skin.

John looked up from Charin to her mother and saw the absolute love and adoration on Teyla's face as she smiled softly down at her daughter. John watched, spellbound by them, watching them gazing at each other, sharing such an elemental moment. Teyla smiled again at Charin, her eyes holding all the love, wonder and fascination she held for her daughter, their daughter.

Enthralled himself he simply watched them, aware of a dull beautiful ache in his chest. The movie long forgotten, the sound ignored, he felt his own amazement in them both; that they had all survived so much together and that they were all here, safe. He loved them and they loved him. His daughter and his…

He looked at Teyla's contented expression, her radiant face and he knew he had to ask her.

He reached forward and muted the movie. Teyla looked up from Charin, her soft smile transferring to him. She must have seen something in his eyes for her smile turned into a questioning look. He glanced down at Charin again, who had finally succumbed to sleep, and then back up to Teyla's dark eyes. He should ask her when they were somewhere romantic; maybe on one of the piers as the sun set, the city a beautiful landscape behind them.

Oddly a memory surfaced from their time on the planet from hell. He remembered that he had wanted to ask her to marry him back then, when she had been swollen with her pregnancy. He had imagined they could have had a little ceremony, just the two of them. It wouldn't have meant anything to anyone in that camp, but it would have meant something to them. None of their friends back on Atlantis would have known, but he had wanted to ask her, to make them a family. To let her know how much she meant to him.

"Will you marry me?" He asked simply, his voice soft.

Teyla's lips parted in surprise and then curved up as she stared at him through the changing light of the muted movie.

"Yes I will." She replied, her voice as soft as his had been.

His heart skipped a beat in his chest as he registered what she had said. She moved towards him, sitting up from her reclined position. He held onto her legs to assist her up and as she sat up next to him he wrapped one arm around her, Charin lying between them. He gazed down at her, feeling rather shell shocked.

"You sure?" He asked.

Her smile was soft and wide as she nodded. He pressed his mouth to hers, tasting the chocolate cake on both their lips. As they parted, she leant into him, resting her forehead against his. Happier than he ever thought he would have ever been at the prospect of being married again, he smiled now. She would be his wife.

She sat back slightly from him and he looked down to see her expression serious, her eyes latching onto his. She adjusted Charin against her and then lifted one hand to touch his chest. Her hand was warmer than he had expected and the heat of her touch poured through his thin shirt to his skin. Her eyes dropped to his chest and he felt her flatten her palm further over his heart before she looked up at him again.

"To my people to touch someone like this…" She whispered. "Is the highest form of connection." Her voice was soft and held a weight of the deepest of importance.

He looked down at her hand against him and it struck him that it was the position a Wraith used to feed on someone. And he knew what it was like to be fed upon, how Todd's hand had felt as it had dug into him, torturing out his life force. Teyla's touch felt nothing like that. Hers rested solidly against him, her touch gentle, warm and loving, and for him it was both soothing and exciting at the same time.

"This is where we are most vulnerable to the Wraith and only our most cherished may touch us like this." Her voice was deeply soporific and all his attention focused on the feel of her touching him and what it meant, what she was saying about her feelings for him.

John opened his eyes and looked up at her before slowly and carefully, in case he was wrong, he lifted his hand to her chest, laying his hand against her bare skin, his palm over her heart, his fingertips touching the base of her throat. His thumb settled gently on Charin's arm and he looked up at Teyla's clearly tearful eyes. He could feel her heart beating beneath his palm and feel her chest expand as she drew in her breath.

"I have let no other touch me like this before." She told him softly.

John felt a flush of pleasure to know that he had been granted something no other man had before. He knew it was just a touch and that they had brushed their hands over each other's chests like this before as they had with others, but this was different. This had a meaning beyond a simple touch. He understood a little more of the rituals of her people then, for he understood this. It meant something to them, to what it represented; that they were more to each other than simple lovers, friends or parents together. He had always felt commitment to be a binding, constraining thing. His marriage to Nancy had been difficult, their mutual affection and love lost over time spent apart and not truly understanding each other. He knew Teyla understood him and accepted him as he was.

He leant down and pressed his lips to hers, and he felt her tears against his cheek. Her heart raced under his palm and he felt the echo of his own against her hand. There would be ceremonies to come, vows to be exchanged aloud for all to hear, but for John it was from this moment that he considered them married. From that moment that she became his wife.

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TBC


	60. Dave

**Chapter:** 60 - Dave

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Wrapping his hand around the hot mug that held his second morning coffee Dave looked once again at the predicted cost report in his hand. He scanned over the lines of numbers for the tenth time, somehow hoping that he had missed something that would reduce the final figure. Unsuccessful this time as he had been the last ten times, he sat back with a heavy sigh and sipped at his coffee. He knew there were no mistakes, he had gone over this report enough times and he knew his people didn't make mistakes. His advisors had told him that if they went ahead with the project it would cost a lot, but he had hoped to cut back in some areas to ultimately try and make the endeavour worth the expense.

He knew the project might eventually bring in money, but that day, if it should come, wouldn't be for several years. It was a risk. He didn't like risks if they could be avoided. He was known as a bull fighter in the boardroom, but in truth he only went into a fight when he had all the facts and usually some plan up his sleeve. This project may turn out cost effective or it might turn out to be a black hole that would suck years' worth of high expenses only to provide nothing in return. Of course if it was successful it would be a huge pay out and it would help the community in that area. Ethically it was good for the company and he liked the plan, but it wouldn't be ethical to the company, and his people, if he spent a load of their money on something that may tank. And it was ultimately up to him.

He put aside the coffee and leant over the report again wondering once again if he could cut back in some areas, though he knew already that he couldn't. He heard his office door open and his assistant enter. Julia was always happy to work wherever he was, whether that was in the main office or here in his office at home. He was supposed to be on a break this week, but with this new project a very real possibility he was reluctant to stay away from work entirely. He stared at the report again, trying to work out how he felt about it.

Julia moved around the office, running his office for him without him really understanding how she worked it all. She paused by the corner of his desk and he heard her shuffling paper. Envelopes dropped into his in tray as she worked through them deciding which ones were personal for him and which she would open and assess for him. He picked up a pen and circled one figure on the report and put a question mark next to it.

"This one's from the Airforce." Julia's words cut through the figures and predictions floating through Dave's head and he looked up at her abruptly. His heart thundered in his chest as he looked down at the envelope in her extended hand. He told himself that further bad news about John would not be sent through the post. Bad news had been delivered by an Airman who had knocked politely at his door over six months ago, to hand over an official piece of paper that had declared John MIA. It had been heartbreaking for Dave. The stupid bit of official paper had sat on his desk for three days before he had begun to ring round the extended, now even smaller, Sheppard clan.

Dave hadn't been close with John since they had been young kids. Dad had quite early on begun to weigh the pressure of the responsibility both Dave and John had in maintaining the family business on their shoulders. John had hated it from pretty much day one. After Mom had died that pressure from Dad had only increased, no doubt driven by Dad's concern for the future. Dave had done as their father had asked, behaving in the way he demanded and had attended all those boring functions with his father, even when he was young. John had resisted every step of the way. He had dug his heels against every responsibility and demand their father asked of them. Though Dave did understand the heavy weight of what their father placed on them, he had never really understood why John had reacted so negatively. John had never felt the need to explain himself even when he was young, but Dave had heard enough of the content of John and Dad's arguments over the years to know that John did not want his future dictated for him. Dad had told John that he needed his future dictated for him, as it was clear he wasn't going to be anything other than a dropout otherwise. Those harsh words had been repeated many times and John had returned some equally harsh arguments once he was older. He was stubborn.

Dave remembered when they had been young, John perhaps only about ten, Dad had decreed a day out as a family. It was a seriously rare occurrence and even till this day Dave suspected there had been some business explanation as to why Dad took his boys (and his assistant and butler) to the beach for the day. Of course it was any empty stretch of private beach that held no entertainment for the boys other than the sand and water. Dad had stated the boundaries of the beach in which the boys had to stay and they were not to leave that area. Even at that young age in a small yet telling display of defiance John had tried to escape up the beach, but had always been brought back by a butler or assistant. Dad had yelled at him, and John had stomped off to the edge of the enforced boundary and had begun to dig into the sand with his small plastic spade.

Dave could still remember watching John work through that morning on the beach. He dug a small hole, which became larger and larger as he ignored calls for him to join them for lunch. By the afternoon John had dug a seriously large hole and had disappeared into it for the remainder of the day. Dave had carried a few sandwiches to his brother and had peered over the edge of his brother's foxhole, to see little John sitting there sulking at the bottom, out of view of their father. When the outing was called to a close Dad had simply walked to John's foxhole, reached into the hole and had lifted John up and out effortlessly. Dad had since that day described John as having been digging his metaphorical foxhole deeper and deeper, and in there he hid away from the family and his responsibilities. When John had joined the Airforce in defiance to Dad's expectations, Dad had simply seen it as John 'hiding away' again. Everyone expected Dad would win out, he always did against everyone, and even when things had been at their worse Dad always had the impression that he could simply stride over to John's sulking foxhole and haul him out if he so chose.

Of course that was not how things had turned out. John's decisions led him further away from the family and Dad, and following his disgrace in the Airforce, had come the final argument with Dad. Dave had been there that day when it had blown out of control. John hadn't said much, as was his usual way, but Dad had expressed himself quite clearly. John had stood up, walked to the door, turned towards them and had told them he didn't need them and that they would never see him again. Dad had followed John out of the house shouting that he would be back. Of course he hadn't. Dad had stewed for days over that last argument, but he had said simply that one day John would return, that he was simply sulking down in his foxhole like a kid. But, days turned to months and then suddenly years had passed.

In his last years, though they had not known that then, Dad had quietly admitted to Dave that he regretted how he had handled things with John. Dad had said that he had thought John was sulking away in his foxhole, but in truth, without anyone realising, John had actually tunnelled his way out. Had they walked to the edge of that metaphorical hiding place John would be gone.

Then Dad had died and Dave had sent out a message to his brother through the Airforce, believing that he must be alive out there somewhere for Dave couldn't imagine his brother leaving the military. He hadn't known whether the message would get to John, or if John would turn up. Dave's memories of his brother up until then had been a sulking boy who had grown up angry and defiant, leaving the him and Dad to run the business without him. Dave had been angered by the thought that finally John would return to claim whatever Dad had left him, and Dave knew Dad had put John in his Will in some capacity. Looking back Dave recognised the fact that he had been rather like the son left at home fearing to be outshone by the prodigal son returning. Then on the day of Dad's funeral John had appeared.

Dave had been shocked by John's appearance, not only in that he had come, but also in the changes that he saw in his brother. John held himself differently and Dave could see the sadness in him, that they both felt. It had angered Dave at first, as had John's abrupt departure from the wake on some 'classified' mission; a typical John excuse from the past as to why he stayed away. Yet, a day later John had arrived at Dave's doorstep and shocked and pleased Dave had let him in. It had been a slightly strained evening at first, but Dave had enjoyed it; getting to know his brother once again. It had been clear that life had changed for John, though he could not give any details. He had held himself differently and the massive front of indifference and casual disregard that John had always worn had dimmed for the evening.

Since then they had actually stayed in touch, though it was limited to the odd letter and Christmas cards, but it had been progress. Then that Airman had arrived with that piece of paper that had told Dave that any further connection with his brother would forever be denied. He had used some of his friend's contacts to carefully make enquires as to where his brother had been killed, but all that had come back had been the clear message that John had been involved in some heavily classified military work. John had been listed as a Lieutenant Colonel on the MIA report; a promotion John had not mentioned. Dave would never know where John had died and in what manner and that had bothered Dave.

But, Dave was used to dealing with the darker emotions linked to family and he had gotten on with his life. Then after six months there had been a second knock on his door and outside had stood a smartly dressed Airman, who this time had smiled politely and asked to come in. Dave had assumed John's body had been found. However, the man had sat down, with what Dave had felt was a regretful expression, and had explained that John had been found and that he was alive and well. Dave had dropped down into his favourite plush chair in shock and had listened to the vague details of John having been held captive and had been released. He was well, though he would be under medical care for at least a month. Dave had asked for further details, but had been denied, politely; it was all classified. That word again. Dave had known how much Nancy had hated it.

After the Airman had left, Dave had gone upstairs in silent shock and had shaved for the second time that day. It had been the only way he would allow himself to let the tears roll down his face as he washed. Since that day he had been so hopeful that he would hear from John, but he had heard nothing. He had rung the Airforce last month, asking for his brother's progress and had been told that John had returned to duty. Dave had been surprised by that, for surely someone who had returned from wherever John had been for six months would need more than a single month off to recover. Of course no further details were forthcoming from the polite professional military tone on the end of the phone. Dave had thanked them and had put the phone down with an odd mixture of pleasure at John's recovery, but also he felt disappointment. Perhaps John had tunnelled his way out again and Dave wouldn't hear from him again.

That was until today. Dave reached out for the envelope Julia still held out for him. He told himself it could only be a letter from John, not some further bad news. Julia, sensing the importance of the letter, quietly disappeared out of his office. Dave turned the envelope and jabbed his thumb under the tab, not bothering to use his choice dark metallic letter opener. Inside was another smaller envelope with his name clearly written across it and despite all the years of separation Dave still recognised his brother's handwriting instantly. Dave's heart hammered in his chest, betraying to him his joy at receiving this communication from John. He knew it would probably be John's usual correspondence of 'I'm well, how are you, maybe see you soon', but he still was pleased that John had taken the time to write to him. He turned over the smaller envelope to see it had been sealed with the official seal of the Airforce, no doubt after someone had read it through to check John hadn't inadvertently implied something classified in his letter. This time Dave reached for his letter opener for he felt something thicker than paper folded up inside. He slit it open carefully and pulled out the writing paper. He unfolded it, there were two pages, and he could feel a thick piece of card at the back. He began reading, still able after all these years to read his brother's natural scrawl, though it was clear that John had taken great care with this letter.

John apologised for not writing sooner, but he had been on medical leave and things were busy there, which was the usual confidential line. He went on to say that he couldn't include any details, but from the way he wrote Dave could tell that John had been through a lot. He was surprised at seeing such a clear sign of his brother's feelings. The letter continued onto the next page and Dave turned it carefully, folding it at the staple in the top corner. John explained that he was fine and wasn't injured in anyway. He was sorry that Dave got the MIA news and he hoped that there hadn't been any expenses paid out on a commemorative ceremony. Dave could read John's sarcasm in the words, but there had been a remembrance ceremony for him, held by Dave and the close family. They had placed a plaque up near Dad's headstone for John. Once Dave had gotten the good news of John's survival, he had immediately removed the plaque.

John explained he was planning a holiday some time soon and he would try to stop by Dave's if he was free. Then he went on to say that he had some other news, which might surprise Dave. He was a father and Dave had a niece. Dave immediately turned to the piece of card at the back realising now that it could be a photo and indeed it was. Dave laughed out loud in shock as he carefully pulled out the staple and held up the picture of his niece. She was a beautiful little girl in whom Dave could instantly see John's likeness. He stared at her in shock before turning back to the letter. Her name was Charin Violet and she was a month and a half old in the picture. John described Charin's personality and it was clear how much John adored her. Dave was surprised again to see such affection openly expressed by his brother. John went on to talk about Charin's mother, a woman named Teyla. Dave seemed to remember the name from talking with John before, but he couldn't be sure. From how John wrote Dave got the impression that he would have a sister in law soon as well as a new niece. John signed off saying that he would be in contact in the future to arrange a visit with his new family if Dave had the time.

Dave read the letter through again and then sat back looking at the photo. John sounded happy and in love. They were emotions Dave never really associated with his brother, but it was clear from the letter that they were true. Dave remembered Dad's invectives about John just after the prodigal son had left; that John would never amount to anything. How wrong he had been. John was, despite mistakes in the past, clearly successful in the Airforce and now had a family.

Dave looked around the room, his eyes scanning over the bookshelves until he found what he was looking for. He stood up and moved to the right shelf and pulled down the pretty old frame which held a boring old photo of a business dinner. He carried it back to his desk, removed the old photo and slid the new photo of Charin into it instead. He dusted the frame and smiled at it. He stood it up on his desk by John's letter and smiled. His eyes fell to the cost report lying partly obscured by John's letter, and Dave decided right then that he would risk the new project. He had a good, completely irrational, feeling about it and after all who knew how things would work out?

------  
TBC


	61. Rodney 4

**Chapter:** 61 - Rodney

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Rodney muttered as he tried yet again to connect the appropriate lead into the alien device. It refused to accept the connection and he muttered louder, as if that would somehow help. Peering down to look into the connection, his cheek almost pressed against the table, he squinted at the alien device's socket.

"Sleeping on the job, Rodney?" John's voice rang out from behind him and Rodney shot upright, embarrassed despite himself.

"No." He replied before he returned his attention to the lead in his hand; it should work.

"Still haven't got this thing working, huh?" John asked as he circled the table, frowning down at the device.

Rodney sighed heavily. "It's working already, we're just trying to figure out how to transfer the data out of it and onto our system." He was pretty sure John knew all that already, but he wanted to make it clear what he was doing. "It doesn't seem to want to connect to our system or the Ancient systems." He added to make sure it was clear it wasn't his fault.

John paused at the end of the table and frowned down at the alien device. "How'd you get it working in the first place?" He asked.

"Because it activated when we brought it here."

John frowned. "By itself?"

"Yes and yes, we've already checked it isn't a bomb or anything."

"How can you be sure?"

Rodney rolled his eyes; why did everyone think that he didn't check these obvious things? He was genius after all. Of course he would check there wasn't anything explosive! He pointed to the small display screen set into the top of the stone like lump that had turned out to be an alien information storage device. "Because it says what it is here."

John leant over the table to look at the tiny screen. "Oh. Can you read it?"

"Yes, we've done that already." Rodney stated as patiently as he could. "It's close to Ancient really; yet another planet who decided to use the Ancient language as a shortcut to making up their own language." Rodney muttered as he tried again to connect the lead into the side of the device.

"You mean like Latin?" John asked in that annoying way he had of finding arguments to Rodney's innocently stated comments.

Rodney ignored that and squinted down at the connection again. "The problem is we can't seem to access it."

"Maybe it's WiFi." John suggested.

Rodney sighed as he stood up, but already clogs were turning; why hadn't he thought of that, it was so obvious. It was probably why it had activated when they had brought it here. He gave a considering noise as he turned subtly to pick up his tablet and began quickly seeking out any WiFi like signals the device was giving out. He found it immediately in the first scans they had taken of it, but he hadn't recognised it for what it was. He turned to his laptop and began calculating how to communicate with the device. He had almost forgotten John was in the room, so focused on his new mission had he been.

"So, I wanted to ask you something." John said.

Rodney made an interested noise as he tapped in a test signal and activated it from the computer. He turned to the device to see lights flashing up on its small screen. Rodney turned back to the laptop and rescanned the device to see it was definitely now more active than before. Thrilled he was finally onto something he turned back to the device and John.

John was peering at the small screen on it and Rodney nudged him aside; he would probably do something to it. John stepped back appearing amused.

"So, my question?"

Rodney looked up at him confused. "What question?"

"The question I'm asking."

"You haven't asked me a question." Rodney told him back, confused and worried as he tried to replay the last few minutes in his mind in case he had in fact missed something John had said.

"Technically I just did." John replied.

"When?" Rodney demanded.

"Just now, I asked about my question. That was a question."

Rodney opened his mouth to argue back but he noticed the teasing glimmer in John's eyes and decided he hadn't missed anything. "Very funny. If that's all you have to ask then you can just leave me in peace to work this thing out." He turned back to the device.

"Seems to me I worked it out for you." John replied far too smugly.

"I would have gotten it eventually." Rodney argued back.

"Well, it took you six months to work out the last alien device."

Rodney couldn't help the wince he felt at that; it was true if he had worked out that alien device that had allowed that pirate to escape the pocket, they would have found John and Teyla faster. He tried to wave off the remark, turning to the unemotional figures passing over the tablet's screen.

"I didn't mean it like that. Can't we joke about it yet?" John said.

Rodney smiled tightly in reply; he would get there one day.

"Rodney." John said in a tone that was far too close to the one Rodney heard him using with Torren and Charin. "You did the best you could. If it had been anyone else Teyla and me would never have gotten out of there."

Rodney accepted that with a half smile and the moment grew uncomfortable.

"So." John continued. "My question…"

Rodney rolled his eyes, so glad that the emotional stuff was over. "That again."

"I asked Teyla to marry me and she said yes."

Rodney looked up, completely forgetting the device and his tablet now. "Really?" He asked.

"Yeah." John replied and Rodney saw the flicker of very real pleasure over his expression.

"Wow, that's…great. Wow." Rodney muttered.

"I know, so I was hoping you might be my best man." John added.

Shocked again Rodney looked up at him in panic. "Me?" John nodded. "But, I don't know anything about being a best man." He protested. "I'm not good with the organising of that kind of thing."

John smiled at him in a very annoyingly amused way. "Teyla and I are organising everything, you just have to stand there, hold the rings and deal with people on the day."

"But…I'm not good with people." Rodney confessed without thinking. "What if I get it wrong?"

John smiled again. "That's why I've asked Ronon as well."

"Oh." Rodney felt both relieved and disappointed.

"You, Ronon, me and Teyla. We'll be the team again for the day."

Touched and uncomfortable Rodney nodded. "Okay. Great. Happy to."

"Thanks, Rodney." John replied with a smile.

"So, when's the wedding?" He asked. He would have plenty of time to do some research to make sure he got down all the best man duties and he and Ronon could have a few meetings on it all.

"Two weeks." John replied.

"In two weeks?!" Rodney spluttered. "Why so quick." He paused the opportunity to tease Sheppard suddenly apparent. "You haven't gotten Teyla pregnant again have you?"

He watched thrilled at the slight flush to John's cheeks. "No. Rodney!"

Rodney laughed at his friend, mentally replaying the moment so he could tell the others later.

"There's not much to sort. We'll have the ceremony in the city and then head over to the Athosian camp for another short ceremony and then there's a massive feast. Halling said it can all be arranged for two weeks time and we're asking an old friend of Teyla's dad to make the rings up for us."

"Wow, you guys are really going to do this." Rodney uttered, a hot flush of panic hitting him; he hoped this wouldn't give Jennifer ideas!

"Why wait?" John added dismissively. "So, anyway we're sorting out the details of the ceremony, it's going a small private thing and part Athosian, but it should be short and sweet, and then we just party for the rest of the day."

"Okay, sounds good." He could manage that.

"Great, thanks Rodney." John replied and they smiled at each other. They fell quiet and Rodney found himself wondering yet again down his regretful thoughts.

"I really did do the best I could to get you guys back." He found himself confessing. They had talked about this before just after John and Teyla had returned, but Rodney had found himself still dwelling on it over the past two months.

John frowned and reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. "I know you did, Rodney. You always do."

He was touched at the comment and at the realisation that John wouldn't have asked him to be a best man if he still held a grudge. Not for the first time did Rodney wonder on the strange friendship he and John shared. He would never have seen himself as having a friend like John; military, heroic and annoying. But, he really was a good friend and someone that Rodney really did care about.

The moment lingered a little too long again. "So, I'll see you later. Teyla and I are meeting Carson and Ronon for dinner, wanna join us?" John asked.

"I'll be there." Rodney confirmed, despite the fact that it was pretty much a routine now anyway. Most days of the week they would all meet up for at least one meal a day together and Rodney enjoyed it.

"Great." With that John ambled out of the room in his cool guy chilled manner that Rodney envied.

Rodney turned back to the device and tapped his tablet, scanning the device and abruptly the new connection jumped to life. "Hey." He announced in pleasure; another puzzle solved. Now, he just had to work out what it meant to be a best man.

------  
TBC


	62. Teyla 18

**Chapter:** 62 - Teyla

**Note:** VERY fluffy, you are warned – hey it's a wedding, what do you expect?

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The next room was crowded with people, all preparing, organising and laughing. The atmosphere was excited and joyful. For the start of the morning Teyla had enjoyed that atmosphere. She had sat in the centre of the sea of women as everyone prepared themselves, pressing dresses, uniforms and applying makeup. Teyla had sat in the middle of the room, sitting still as her hair was put up and decorated with threads and flowers woven in amongst the strands. She had watched her friends cuddle and dote over Charin and Torren, making sure it was an easy day for them and for Teyla. Everyone was excited, for there had never been a wedding in Atlantis before. Though, there had been much speculation as to whether the Ancestors in the city had married, and where those ceremonies had been held. Teyla had smiled as she listened to the talk, guessing that the bottles of wine across the room were being well enjoyed.

However, once her hair was ready she had retired to another room to prepare herself. She sat and prayed the traditional prayers to the Ancestors, drunk the appropriate tea and lit the ceremonial candles before she dressed herself. She had spent much of her time over the past two weeks preparing the wedding dress, working on it in the Athosian camp with two friends well skilled in needle work. They had prepared outfits for Charin and Torren, whilst she had worked on her dress.

She pulled the dress out from its hiding place of the protective plastic cover. She was happy with the final result, which she felt combined both John's cultural traditions and her own. She pulled the dress carefully from the hanger and pulled it over her head carefully. The material was cool and slick as it slid over her head and down her body, falling into place. She adjusted the fabric over her hips, settling it properly and then turned her attention to tying up the corseted back of the dress. She had no problem reaching around her back to fasten it closed, for she had designed it to close easily and fit comfortably for the day. The dress closed beautifully, the dress hugging her correctly around her middle. Everything in place she finally looked at her self in the tall mirror leant against the far wall.

The main body of the dress was white, as was traditional to John's people, but she had added elements of her own. The wide sweeping neckline was lined with colourful beads and threads depicting budding flowers breaking into bloom. The golden threads of the corset added just enough texture and shape to her middle down to her hips, where the white dress parted into long sleek panels, revealing the dark rich golden coloured fabric layered beneath. She ran her hands over her hips, causing the layers of material to shift around her legs and she smiled at the result. She was happy with it and she hoped John would be as well.

She wore no necklace or jewellery, as was the custom of her people, though she would be adding a ring to her left hand during the ceremony. She looked down at her bare hand, her mind drifting to the rings she and John had collected from her father's friend. They were equally a combination of Earth and Athosian traditions. Each ring had been made with two different metals interwoven and messed until one band had been formed, though the subtle differences of the two metals could still be seen. She noticed that her fingers were shaking slightly and she smiled at her nervousness. She had nothing to be nervous about; there would be only their friends there and she had absolutely no doubts about marrying John. She closed her hands into fists and took a deep breath and let it out opening her hands at the same time to relax herself. She repeated this several times, focusing her mind on the fact that today was about her and John. She opened her eyes and regarded herself in her wedding dress. She was ready.

She checked her hair, resettling a few tendrils of her red curls that hug from her loosely knotted up hair, before she reached for the long trailing arrangement of flowers she was to carry to the ceremony. The gentle scents rose to her nose as she lifted their weight and she paused to inhale the sweet smell. With a smile she turned to the door. It slid open and everyone in the room beyond turned in unison to look at her. Gasps and smiles greeted her as she entered the room. Torren, who had been sitting in his smart dark outfit raced through the sea of dresses to her side, only to pause and look up at her slightly nervously. Teyla reached down to him with one outstretched hand and he carefully reached up, his eyes wandering over her dress, as was everyone else in the room.

"Oh, Teyla, you look so beautiful!" Jennifer uttered as she stepped towards her.

Teyla smiled at her. "Thank you, Jennifer." She looked down at herself once again. "Is it appropriate enough for a wedding?" She found herself asking, though it was far too late to be changing anything.

"It is perfect." Jennifer assured her, as did everyone else and Teyla felt herself relax a little more.

"I am ready then." She announced and everyone burst into activity once again. She moved across the room, allowing people to adjust her hair slightly and straighten the back panels of her dress. Torren kept a tight hold on her hand as they reached the door to the hallway. Charin was safely tucked up in Jennifer's arms, dressed in a beautiful little outfit. Teyla exchanged a smile with Jennifer before opening the door. She stepped out into the corridor only to find that there was quite an audience outside. They all clapped and smiled as she appeared. Overwhelmed at the attention Teyla smiled politely and kept her attention on keeping her growing nerves under control.

She and John had asked thirty people to the ceremony originally, hoping to keep it small, and had planned to hold it in one of the larger rooms in the city. However Mr Woolsey had offered the Gate room itself as the location for the ceremony. They had accepted, though it was a running joke, and the subject of many bets, as to whether the Gate would activate during the ceremony. John believed it would be typical for them that some alien would choose that time to call in for help, or to wage war on them. Teyla had laughed at the idea, but had secretly prayed to the Ancestors that the Gate would remain silent until they used it to travel to her people's camp.

Once the location of the ceremony had been decided they had accepted that perhaps there would be more than thirty people, and now as she walked down the lined corridors towards the Gate room, she was shocked at how many of the Atlantis personnel had turned up to see her. Emotional even more than before, she worked to smile and keep walking forward. Torren's hand lessened in its tight hold on her fingers, as he began to enjoy all the noise and attention. Teyla wished she could.

Behind her Charin was awake and grumbling in Jennifer's arms, no doubt woken by the noise and she had been rather unhappy this morning. Teyla believed that it was the excitement in the air, her own nervousness and the fact that Charin was missing her father. In keeping with John's cultural tradition he and Teyla hadn't seen each other since yesterday afternoon and Charin had clearly missed her father's cuddles last night, as had Teyla.

Rodney abruptly appeared around the corner ahead and any nervousness Teyla was feeling drifted away as she saw the nerves her friend was lost in. He seemed honoured in having been selected by John to be a 'best man', but he had clearly been worried about his duties. Teyla had enjoyed the little 'meetings' she and John had had with Rodney and Ronon over the preparations for today. It had been wonderful to be sitting and working together again as a team.

Teyla smiled at Rodney as he reached them. He was dressed very smartly in a pressed black suit and in one hand he was holding a radio.

"Oh, great, you're here. Everything ready?" He asked as he walked briskly forward to meet them.

"We are all ready, Rodney. Is John ready?" Teyla asked pausing by his side.

"Yes, yes. And the General arrived ten minutes ago, so everyone's here. We're good to go?" Teyla nodded to him and he lifted his radio to his mouth. "Bridal party is here, we are ready to go, repeat we are ready to go." He announced rather dramatically.

"Sure, McKay." Ronon's calm voice responded over the radio.

"Okay?" Rodney asked again as he looked past Teyla's shoulder to Jennifer and then back to Teyla.

Teyla let go of Torren's hand and reached out to Rodney. "Yes, Rodney. Thank you."

He relaxed slightly under her touch. "Okay. Then I'll go get into position. We'll see you in there." He added, a smile now touching his lips. "Good luck." With that he turned and headed off around the corner again at a brisk pace.

Jennifer stepped up beside Teyla and laughed. "You'd think this was some military exercise the way he's been acting." She said as she bounced Charin gently, who had stopped grumbling to stare at everyone around her, several of which were leaning in to speak softly to her. Jennifer met Teyla's eyes and smiled gently. "Ready to go?

Teyla nodded as last minute adjustments were made by helpful hands, checking the back of dress hung properly, that the flowers trailed just right and that her hair was perfect. Teyla smiled at the nervously happy faces around her and looked down to see Torren was happily holding doctor Murphy's hand. Everything was ready.

She turned to the corridor before her, stepped around the corner and ahead of them the entrance to the Gate room came into view. This corridor, like the others, was lined with people, most of them dressed very smartly in their uniforms she noted. Beyond them Rodney stood in the doorway ahead and muttered something into his radio before disappearing into the Gate room. Ahead she heard gentle music flowing to announce her approach, and from the Gate room she saw people peering down the corridor. She lifted her head high and walked down the corridor, the flowers a comforting weight in her hands. As she neared the doorway she spied more familiar faces and she smiled widely to see Athea and Halling. They smiled brightly from their position opposite the doorway and as she stepped through the doorway she looked around shocked to see the room was packed to bursting. The area to both sides of the Gate was full of smartly dressed smiling faces, and the balconies overhead and at the area at the top of the stairs was packed full of people.

She walked carefully up the ramp, feeling the dress brushing the floor until she reached the level of the Gate and she walked out into the space between the lines of people. The Gate stood silently to her right and she turned to the left, walking away from the Gate as she had so often when she arrived in the city. Ahead of her there was as open space before the stairs and a semi circle of people stood around the man selected by the SGC to officiate over the ceremony. She paused before the semi circle of her closest friends and her eyes went immediately to John who stood to the right and as his eyes met hers she felt herself relax. He was dressed in his uniform, the dark blue material so flattering on him, as were the long lines of his honours pined to his chest. He looked up from her dress and gave her a wide happy smile, which he followed up with a wink. Smiling herself she stepped forward into the semi circle and John moved forward to meet her. He reached out with both hands and touched her hands holding the flowers and she smiled brightly up at him. The last remains of tension and nervousness fled for she was simply with John and her friends.

Around them the semi circle became a circle encircling them and Teyla looked round at those around her and smiled at Halling, Athea, Colonel Carter and General O'Neill who had completed the circle. The General winked at her and she returned his smile. She and John had invited Colonel Carter and there had been some discussion about whether they could invite General O'Neill, after all he had plenty to do without travelling to Atlantis again. However, they had not needed to worry as Colonel Carter had told them she would be bringing the General with her anyway. Teyla was touched at his presence and she knew it meant a lot to John that he was here. After all it had been General O'Neill who had brought John into the Stargate programme. Teyla only wished that Elizabeth could have still been with them to share this day with them.

Pushing aside that sad thought she looked on around the circle. Jennifer and Doctor Murphy made up part of the circle behind Teyla and with them Torren and Charin. Ronon and Rodney stood as part of the circle behind John, Ronon looking very happy and surprisingly dressed in a shirt and tie. Beside him Rodney was checking the circle and nervously checking his pocket. Next to them in the circle stood Major Lorne, Colonel Walker and then the Chaplain, who stood at the head of the circle at the base of the Gate Room staircase. To his right and Teyla's left Mr Woolsey and Carson completed the circle.

The music died gently away and all the gentle whispers silenced as Teyla turned and Murphy took her flowers from her hands. Her hands free Teyla turned back to face John, sliding her hands into his. The Chaplain stepped forward and greeted everyone, thanking them for their presence for this beautiful day. He told them that she and John had chosen a short ceremony now that would hold the traditions for both their people, and afterwards they would travel to the Athosian camp for another ceremony to complete the matrimonial rites.

"…for these two not only represent a coming together of two people, but of two cultures and two galaxies. They remind us that there is more to what we are all working to achieve here than simple exploration and defence. We are all ultimately one family, and there is more that binds us than our shared humanity and ancestry. Today reminds us of this more than ever." He looked past Teyla and John towards Halling who stood opposite him in the circle. "This ceremony unites not just these two into matrimony, but also unites two traditions. Halling of Athos and I will work together to officiate over this ceremony." Teyla looked over to Halling to see him nod to the Chaplain and then he smiled at her and then over at John. "I will ask now that these two will exchange vows and in keeping with John's cultural tradition they will exchange rings. Then in following the Athosian tradition once the rings are exchanged they will be bound to one another in the eyes of the Ancestors."

The man stepped forward into the circle to stand by her and John. Teyla looked to him, saw him glance briefly down at his holy book to check his words written on a small little card; the words were again a mixture of both her and John's cultures.

"Teyla Emmagan of Athos those here would ask to know that you will keep this man safe with you, that you will love, honour and protect him, in sickness and in health, in struggle and in peace, respect his family, speak only truth with him and share all that you are with him?"

Teyla looked away from the man's kind blue eyes to meet John's. "I will." She stated softly as she smiled up at John and he smiled in return, his eyes both soft and bright at once.

"Jonathon Thomas Sheppard" John looked round to the Chaplain and Teyla saw the hint of amused annoyance in his eyes and she tightened her hands on his, trying not to smile at the laughing looks exchanged behind him between Rodney, Lorne and Walker. There was a pause and then seriousness returned with the Chaplain words. "of Earth those here would ask to know that you will keep this woman safe with you, that you will love, honour and protect her, in sickness and in health, in struggle and in peace, respect her family, speak only truth with her and share all that you are with her?"

John looked back to her and smiled. "I will." His hands tightened around hers.

The Chaplain nodded and looked over at Rodney and Ronon. "May we have the rings?"

"Oh, yes." Rodney uttered as he fished into his pocket and pulled out a small blue box. Ronon took it, opened it and offered it to the Chaplain who gently pulled out the two rings and laid them in the open fold of his book.

"I ask that God and the Ancestors bless these rings. The circle, like that of the Stargate, represents an unending union that has no beginning and no end. What has come before will exist always, and what is now will continue to exist. Love is the unending union of body, mind and spirit and with your vows you enter into the primal union and tradition of both your people. To give and to receive is the path of love and I ask that you now exchange your rings as a sign to each other, and to all, of your commitment to each other."

The Chaplain leant forwards with the rings offering them to John. She and John had discussed this moment, when rings and personal vows were to be exchanged. She knew John was nervous about it, though she had told him that for her people the words need not be formal or loud enough for all to hear. He had seemed slightly comforted by that, but she saw the nervousness there. She saw the tension around his eyes as he dropped her hands and reached for the smaller of the two rings; the one destined for her finger. She had told him that he needed only to say that he loved her and to slide the ring onto her finger. She needed no more than that, but as he turned back to her and reached for her left hand she saw the seriousness and felt the weight of his attention on her. The full to bursting room around them disappeared and all she became aware of was him.

"Teyla," he said softly, his voice carrying to her ears clearly and it felt personal and gentle. "I sat up last night trying to decide what I should say. I know that you already know how I feel about you and that I trust you and love you." He smiled softly. "I've trusted you since that first day we met when you took me on that very long walk through that Athosian forest." She smiled up at him. "And I think that I've loved you since that day, through that _very_ long walk through that forest." She understood his meaning that he was not simply talking of that walk on the first day they met, but of the many days since then to when they had admitted their feelings for one another.

"I also found myself thinking last night about that time when Michael took you. It took us weeks to find you," He looked down at her hand and then to the ring in his other hand. "I remember that I missed you, that I was frightened for you," he said, his voice cracking slightly before he looked up at her again. "I remember that missing you felt like a pain in my chest that stopped me from sleeping or eating. That we might not be able to find you, to save you, to be with you even through the worst that could happen..." Tears were in her eyes abruptly and she blinked them away, not wanting anything to block her view of him. His hand tightened on hers again, his thumb sliding over her fingers.

"We've been through worse since and we've survived together. I can't promise you that bad things won't happen again, but I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to be by your side, to protect you and our family as best as I can. I can promise you that I love you and I will always love you." Tears slid down her cheeks as she smiled up at him, seeing dampness in his eyes, before he looked down to her hand. He slid the ring around the end of her finger before he looked up at her again. The metal was warm against her skin, having been warmed by his hand. "I have always loved you." He whispered softly as he slid the ring down her finger to its final resting place.

He smiled at her then and she tightened both her hands around his. She wanted to hold him, to kiss him now, but now was not the time. Tears slipped down her cheeks still and she released one of John's hands to wipe at her face. Someone touched her elbow and she looked round to see a tearful Jennifer offering her a tissue. Teyla took it with a smile, noticing there were a few other tissues being used around the circle. She smiled as she dabbed at her eyes; and to think people thought John was not expressive about his feelings. She dried her face, tucked away the tissue and turned back to John. His smile was gentle and warm on her and she reached for his hands again, tightly holding them, letting him know how much his words had meant to her.

The Chaplain stepped forward again, leaning towards Teyla slightly. "In your own time." He offered gently.

Teyla nodded, took a breath and released John's hands to reach for the remaining ring nestled in the fold of the holy book. The metal was cool in her fingers as she lifted it and held it between her hands as the Chaplain stepped back. She ran the ring through her fingertips, warming the metal, and she felt the etching on the inside of the band; an inscription of both their names with the Athosian symbol for union.

She looked up at John and saw him waiting patiently and with ill hidden curiosity as to what she would say. For these words were for him, but also for the others listening and for the Ancestors to overhear. She smiled up at him softly.

"I have been told by friends of my family that my parents were married on a bright beautiful spring day." She began and a swell of emotion caught her throat, for she wished that in another world she would have been allowed the grace of growing up with her parents. She knew they would have loved John. "They enjoyed at least five years of marriage before the Wraith took my mother. My father spoke of my mother with love, always wishing her name to be spoken, but it was clear that he missed her and that it caused him pain to speak of her. His stories of her were always full of love and of a gentle ease between them." She looked down at the ring between her fingers and smiled widely.

"However, when I was older and I asked Charin, who was like a grandmother to me, about my parents, her stories were a little different." There was some soft laughter from around the room and John smiled, though his attention was focused purely on her. "She said that they had been so very different and yet very alike; both full of strength and natural leadership skills. She told me that it had taken many years for them to acknowledge to each other what was between them. They had been so alike each other that they had debated with each other over everything, but Charin always said, that it had always been clear to everyone else how much they meant to each other."

"Charin and others have told me that my mother loved my father with a fiery passion and she that would defend him against anyone and everything if it was necessary." Teyla took a breath and looked up at John again. "Which is why, on that day of the Wraith culling, on the last day she lived, she pushed my father out of the way of the Wraith sweeper to save his life. She gave her life to save his."

Teyla looked back down to the ring in her fingers. "I have always honoured that decision of my mother's, though it took her from me and my people that day. I honoured it, but in truth I always wished she had not made that decision. Not that I would wish my father away, but I have wished that she had stayed with us both. But, now," she looked up at John seeing the echo of emotion in his eyes. They both knew what is was to live a life on the edge. They had protected each other fiercely on that planet in the pocket. "Now, I truly do understand her choice." John looked deeply in to her eyes and Teyla could almost hear his thoughts telling her he never wanted her to make that choice, but she knew he understood it as well. She knew he would do the same for her, not that she would ask him to.

She reached out her left hand and he lifted his hand to hers, his hand tight around hers to communicate all that she had seen in his expression. "I honour my mother and father this day, in that I chose another to add to my family. A man who is strong and noble. A man whom I love and who I know they would have loved as well." She lifted the ring and slid it onto his finger and then clasped his hand tightly. The tears began to flow again and she looked up from their joined hands to meet John's eyes through her tears and she saw he was moved. She knew he understood.

She blinked away the tears in her eyes and lifted her other hand to wipe them from her cheeks. Sniffles from around the room became apparent to her and she smiled as she reached for her tissue once again. Jennifer presented another dry tissue and Teyla took it with a smile to her friend and those around the circle. Her eyes met Halling's and he graced her with a wide smile and she nodded in return. Her face dry once again Teyla tucked away the tissue and turned back to John, clasping his hands, feeling the new element of his ring on his finger, and her own a new gentle weight on her finger.

The Chaplain stepped forward again. "These two have given their vows to each other and have exchanged rings as a symbol of these vows and their love for one another. I now ask that Halling step forward to complete these rites."

The Chaplain stepped back and Halling stepped forward. Teyla and John both turned their attention to Halling, dropping one hand, so that they held out their clasped hands before Halling. He smiled at John and then turned his gaze to Teyla before looking out to the wide audience around them.

"It is customary for our people that once vows of commitment are extended that the new couple are bound to one another." He turned to Athea, who leant into the circle, offering a long strip of dark red cloth. Halling took it and held it up between John and Teyla. "By this action we physically bind the two together, for from this day they are forever bound." He rested the soft cool fabric over both their joined hands. With quick efficient movements Halling wrapped the fabric under and over their hands several times until two trails were left.

"My people consider this marriage a blessing." Halling stated as he lifted one end of the cloth and circled it around one of Teyla's arm, therefore extending the binding up her arm. "We honour our connection to the people of Earth." He moved on to the other end of the cloth and wound it around John's arm. "Together our two peoples are stronger." He secured the last part of the cloth and stood back slightly. "And together you two are stronger." He looked down at their bound hands. "One hand is bound to the other in love and the other hand free to defend that love."

He bowed to them and she and John bowed their heads in return. Halling turned back to Athea, who now offered him a knife. He took the bronze handle and turned back. He quickly, though carefully, slid the blade into the binding over their joined hands and sliced the cloth in two. Teyla caught the ends in her hand as the binding parted and she released John's hand. She secured the cut ends around her wrist, leaving the spiralling red cloth stretching down her arm to her wrist. It would be a sign to everyone today that she had been bound. She looked up from the dark red cloth to see John had secured his as well. The red material stood out in stark contrast to the blue of his uniform and she smiled up at him as they held hands again.

The Chaplain stepped forwards to stand on their other side opposite Halling. "The rites complete, we now proclaim these two married, in the eyes of the Ancestors and in the eyes of all of us here present. I now pronounced you husband and wife." He smiled. "You may now kiss the bride."

The room burst into cheers around them, but Teyla was more focused on leaning in towards John and the soft warm press of his lips upon hers. Her husband's kiss. Smiling they parted and John wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to him as around them people clapped and cheered.

------  
TBC


	63. John 18

**Chapter:** 63 - John

**Note:** Still rather fluffy, but we're almost near the end now…

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The Athosian camp was full with its people, all dressed up and smiling. The camp had been transformed, with many of the tents having been moved to create a large open space. Tables were already set up to hold the food that could be smelt cooking across the camp. The football pitch area had been the sight of the blessing ceremony, where surrounded by the Athosians they had stood in the centre of a small stone circle. Within the outer ring of stones their 'circle' of friends had surrounded them again and Halling had overseen a simple ceremony full of thanksgiving and prayers to the Ancestors.

The sun had been warm down on them, shining over everyone's heads and sparkling off John and the General's uniform pins. A gentle cooling breeze had helped to keep it comfortable enough. The bright banners and flowers hung up around the area had all danced in the breeze, as had the tendrils of Teyla hair. John had watched them dance around her face and throat, repressing the desire to reach out and touch her through the blessing ceremony.

She had tightened her hand in his though, so he knew she had noticed, and he turned his attention back to Halling. Halling smiled again, lifted his hands outwards.

"We honour you both; Teyla and John Emmagan Sheppard. Let the Ancestors walk with you both and your children."

Everyone began clapping, stamping and cheering around them. John shook off the surprise at being called Emmagan Sheppard and turned to Teyla and pulled her gently towards him.

"Do I get to kiss you again?" He asked with a smile as she rested within his arms.

"Yes, you may." She replied with a wide smile.

They kissed softly, but lingering hotly underneath simmered the passion between them. They had been apart almost a day and he had missed her. He was looking forward to spending time alone with his new wife later; maybe they could steal away for a few moments? After all there was a bridal tent waiting for them. Teyla pulled back from him, her smile telling him she knew exactly where his thoughts had been headed. He pulled her back for another quick kiss before letting her step back from him slightly. He was getting used to kissing her in public, though he preferred it when they were alone.

Halling lifted his hands again and the clapping dropped away. "Now, the marriage ceremonies are complete, I invite those who travelled with the couple to sit and enjoy food, drink and rest. For now, we would like to invite John to join us for another short private ceremony."

John's heart dropped at that. Since they had decided to marry, John had been more than a little concerned that there would be some dangerous Athosian test he would have to pass. Teyla had assured him there wasn't and had seemed quite amused by his caution. Halling had also assured him there was no test or 'fight to the death' as John had feared. But, there had been something in Halling's eyes that had told John there was something he wasn't being told. And this last week, whenever he saw an Athosian there was something in their eyes that worried John. It wasn't that he felt intimidated by that, but it was the subtle amusement and anticipation there that worried him. But, once the wedding day had arrived he had relaxed, for surely such a test, or whatever, would have been sprung on him before now. It seemed he was wrong.

John looked down at Teyla and saw her frown lightly; she was surprised as well. He wasn't sure if that was all that reassuring. But, when Halling stepped forward John could only smile politely.

"John, if you would like to join us in the tent," Halling asked as he indicated the large tent close by. Two of the largest Athosian communal tents had been set to one side of the wide open area for the party and feast. John noticed now that a hell of a lot of Athosians were filing into the large tent Halling was indicating. John nodded and, holding Teyla's hand a little tighter, he walked with her to the tent.

"I thought you said they weren't going to do anything to me?" He whispered to her, only partly hiding his nervousness with the joke.

She smiled. "They are not going to do anything to you, John," she said back, but there was far too much amusement and surprise in her tone for him to make him feel all that comforted. She didn't know what this was about, but as they passed Ronon and Rodney, who were heading away towards the plates of food that had appeared on the tables, John noticed they were not surprised. Clearly this was something Halling had been planning.

The tent's entrance was filing with people still as they reached the entrance. Two Athosians held open the two wide entrance flaps, ready to close the tent from outside observers once every one was inside. The tent was mostly circular and was packed full of Teyla's people, standing or sitting in every available space, except for a small area in the centre, which was, no doubt, where he and Teyla were to go. Halling moved ahead of them heading towards the free space and Teyla dropped John's hand. He looked down to her and she waved him forward ahead of her through the tight press of her people.

So John headed through them by himself. It was darker in here, and the thick scent of candles and incense added an intensity to it all. John reached the open space and turned for Teyla.

"If you would sit in the centre of the space, John. Teyla will sit just behind you," Halling said softly, though in the full quiet tent it sounded quite loud. Everyone was still and there was an air of quiet anticipation in the tent. John told himself they were hardly going to do anything bad to him as he sat down in the centre of the free space. As he did he opened his jacket, the tent warm with so many people pressed inside. Teyla's hand appeared to take his jacket for him. He took a moment to release the red cloth from around his arm and handed his jacket to her. He retied the cloth up his arm, loosened his tie and unbuttoned his top shirt button.

Halling sat down opposite him, on the edge of the open space, with the other most senior of the Athosian people, and looked round at the full tent. "Is everyone here?" He asked.

Murmurs reported that everyone was in place and the last of the sunlight was shut off as the tent flaps were closed. John let his eyes adjust to the new light level and looked once more over his shoulder at Teyla. She was seated just behind him, to his left and she smiled with what he thought was a slightly tearful look. Whatever this was about she had worked out what was happening and that made him feel slightly more relaxed. He turned back to Halling, who had removed his own jacket as well. The big man smiled at him. The atmosphere was more relaxed than John had expected, but he couldn't quite relax himself yet.

"We wished to welcome you privately, John. Our sister has chosen you as her bound partner, and we honour that choice. We also honour the long relationship we have had with you these past five years. You have been a good ally to us."

"The Athosians are valued allies of Atlantis and Earth," John replied carefully.

"Much has happened since your people came to our stars and, though some of it has been difficult to bear, your people have delivered more damage to the Wraith than since the days of the Ancestors themselves."

John nodded uneasily. It was an uncomfortable fact that if Atlantis hadn't visited Athos all those years ago, these people might be better off. Old Athos would probably still be habitable and Michael would never have taken them; perhaps. John didn't know what to say, so he remained quiet. He hoped this wasn't going to be some meeting about the problems Atlantis had brought down on the Athosians.

"We value your people, but for most of us it is you who stand out as having been a good friend to us," Halling continued. "Teyla has chosen you and we honour and approve of that choice." His eyes slid over to Teyla behind John. "Not that she would ever need such approval." There was a gentle swell of light laughter from around the tent. Halling turned his attention back to John.

"To our people that you are now Teyla's bonded partner, her husband, we now consider you to be one of us. The Athosian people often marry with people from other worlds and it is our custom to welcome them into our people. For us, from this day forward, we consider you an Athosian." There was a murmur of approval as John took in the words. Touched at the sentiment he nodded, resisting the urge to look round at Teyla.

"Thank you Halling. I'm honoured," John replied, unsure if he should say more.

Halling nodded in return. "To honour this, if you wish, we would like to gift you an Athosian name."

John cleared his throat, feeling strange at the suddenly emotionally charged atmosphere. Despite everything that had happened they accepted him. "I would be honoured." He replied, knowing that would be the words Teyla would use.

Halling smiled. "Wonderful." The silence seemed to intensify around the tent, everybody waiting. Halling looked over John's shoulder towards Teyla. "We wish to name your husband, Teyla. Do you agree?"

"I agree, with thanks from us both." Teyla replied John heard the emotion in her voice.

Halling looked back at him and paused. "John we would like to gift you the name; Itinor."

John heard Teyla's surprised in breath and he looked round at her. Her eyes were bright as she looked from Halling to him and she smiled. He gave her a questioning look, but Halling began talking again drawing John's attention back to him.

"The story of Itinor is well known among many worlds. The story is told that he was an Ancestor and one of their greatest warriors. However, during one of the last battles with the Wraith his beloved was killed. Heartbroken, he retired from the battle, injured himself. Once recovered, he returned to battle, but without his beloved, his strength was not what it once was. Yet, he fought on to defend the ancient city of the Ancestors in her name. When the day came that the Ancestors left our stars he went with them, his heart heavy with his loss and with the victory of the Wraith."

"Until one day, he dreamt of his beloved. He learnt that she had returned to life among our stars and so, determined to find her, he returned once more to the great city and set out to find her. It was said that he travelled to almost every world, cutting down Wraith in his path, helping where he could, until one day he was reunited with his beloved."

Halling paused, breaking the trance John had lost himself in. He had been imagining the story in his mind, envisioning Itinor and the beautiful woman he struggled to find. He saw the battles, the deaths and the felt the loss. It would make a wonderful movie, he thought as he snapped himself back to reality.

Halling smiled softly. "Of course each world assures the other that Itinor found his love among their people." There was some amused murmuring around the tent.

"We the Athosians would like you to take this name as an offering from us, for as an Athosian you need an Athosian name. Do you accept?"

John licked his lips, his chest warm and he looked round at Teyla. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears and her eyes meet his with a smile. He smiled back at her and then looked back at Halling. "I'd be happy to. Itinor," he repeated the name, playing out the sound of it and decided that he liked it.

Halling stood up and around them everyone not standing rose to their feet. John stood up and Halling stepped towards him. The large man's hands landed on John's shoulders. "John Itinor, we welcome you to our people. We are family." He bowed his head forward. John leant his head forward. He had only exchanged this custom with Teyla, but he reached out and placed his hands on Halling's shoulders and they touched foreheads briefly. It was a little odd touching foreheads with a man, but John knew he was being extended an honour.

Halling stood back with a smile and stepped aside. Then another Athosian stepped forward, lifting his hands to John's shoulders. John repeated the ritual over and over with what must have been most of the camp that could fit in the tent. Hands of all sizes touched his shoulders and he returned the gesture with each of them. The atmosphere was solemn at first, but by the end everyone was smiling. The tent flaps had been opened again and light was spilling into the tent.

Finally as the last person walked away there were no more foreheads except Kanaan, who was notably missing. Kanaan had greeted them into the camp before the blessing ceremony, but had left to sit with Kerra to help with the children. John didn't mind the distance, since Kanaan seemed happy enough otherwise, and John could understand. Halling was the last to leave the tent, and clapped his hand on John's shoulder as he passed.

"Come now, John, it is time to celebrate!"

John smiled, but didn't follow, instead turned to Teyla who stood by his side. She looked up at him, her eyes bright. John rubbed his forehead for a joke and she smiled. She reached out and cupped his jaw, pulling him down to her and she kissed his forehead. John inhaled her; this was the first quiet moment the two of them had had alone. He slid his hands around her waist and closed his eyes as she lifted her lips from his forehead and pressed her forehead to his.

"John Itinor." She said with a smile to her voice.

He straightened up and looked down at her again. "It's better than Jonathon Thomas." She smiled with him. "You didn't know they were going to do that?" He asked.

"No. Though once I saw everyone gathering in the tent I surmised they were going to gift you a name and to honour you as one of our people. The name was a surprise to me."

John rubbed his hands up and down her back, the textured corset warm with her body heat. "I like your dress," he told her.

"I thought you might," she replied, their voices dropping to that private tone of lovers.

"You gonna wear it all day, or should you maybe change out of it?" He suggested, envisioning helping her with that.

She smiled up at him, her hands resting on his chest. "I am planning to wear it all day, yes." He pouted at her with his disappointment. Outside there came a rush of noise and John guessed Atlantis personnel had begun to arrive. No quiet private moment was to be had yet.

"I guess we need to go greet our guests," he suggested.

"Yes. Though perhaps we can steal a few moments alone together later," she suggested and John lifted an interested eyebrow. "For there is one more tradition I will share with you later."

With that teasing comment she pulled from his arms and they walked towards the open tent entrance, to see the crowd growing outside.

The afternoon passed pretty quickly. After snacking on the buffet food laid out on the large tables, John sat with Teyla and chatted with everyone. When there was a pause he headed off to change out of his uniform, having been unsuccessful in persuading Teyla to 'change' as well. The bridal tent, as he referred to it, was decorated with flowers and bright blankets and rugs. John pulled on a smart pair of trousers and a white shirt. As he retied the red cloth back around his right arm he smiled at the memory of the ceremony. He was a married man again, and this time it felt very different. He had promised Teyla that he would do all he could for her and he only hoped that he could live up to that promise. That he would be enough for her.

The red cloth secured he headed back out into the sea of tents. Laughter was all he could hear and from the smells he caught on the air, dinner was being prepared. These people considered him one of their family now. In the last three months he had gone from having one brother he barely knew, to having a daughter, a step son, a wife and now an entire people to call family. He had not seen that coming.

As he navigated the last tents towards the open areas, in which he could see that even more people had arrived from Atlantis, he found himself thinking back to the story of Itinor. The images he had constructed in his mind as he had listened to Halling, were still so vivid in his mind. He wondered if it had been true; had Itinor existed and had he really found his love? John didn't really feel much towards the Ancients. They had abandoned the people of this galaxy and had ridiculously strict rules on involvement, but he could understand that kind of love. He hoped that Itinor had found her and had started a family.

Reaching the open area he sought out Charin among the crowd. She was being cuddled by an Athosian elder, who saw him and nodded him over. The woman beamed at him as she handed Charin over to him. He hadn't had much time with his girl today and she smiled up at him now, though she was clearly sleepy from her recent meal.

The afternoon moved on, people leaving and arriving from Atlantis with their shifts, but as the evening approached more were arriving. An innocent game of football, started by the kids, had turned into a full match among the adults. John hadn't joined in, but had umpired from the sidelines with Charin in his arms. He explained all the rules to her as he jogged up and down. The Athosians had clearly been playing the game along with their kids. Halfway through John had to call a foul on General O'Neill, but fortunately Colonel Carter backed him up, so John was pretty sure he wasn't going to get fired for the call. In fact the game was in good spirits and by the time the late meal was served, everyone had had enough and tucked into the food and ruus wine.

Once the suns began to lower in the sky a Athosian band brought out some instruments and the rhythmic ritual music wasn't too bad. In fact once people had enough ruus wine people began to dance. John sat though, eating his food with Charin in her sling around him and his friends around him. Ronon had plenty of the ruus wine and soon disappeared, only for John to spot him later having started some sparring sessions on one side of the football pitch. Occasionally he heard the familiar sound of clashing bantos rods. Rodney, returning from his fifth trip around the buffet tables, was looking a little red in the face as well. John had only had one cup of the strong brew, and hadn't even finished it yet. Teyla sat beside him the entire time, her people, though technically they were his people now as well, gradually all came up and sat with them in turn. Torren wandered around enjoying cuddles, and helping himself to people's plates of food.

As the bright red colours of the two setting suns spread across the sky and the light lowered, more people began dancing and the noise level increased. The kids had run out of energy and most had headed off to the Sitter's tent, manned, as ever, by Kerra. John sat beside Teyla, Charin asleep against him as he checked the dancing crowd once again. He hadn't seen Rodney for awhile and was worried his friend had helped himself to more ruus wine. Keller was sitting with the Athosian healer still, so Rodney could be anywhere.

Teyla touched his hand, drawing his attention to her. The firelight from the torches set around the camp, glowed over her skin in the dying sunlight. He caught her hand in his and smiled at her.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" She asked him.

"Sure. How can I not? You seen Zelenka?" He asked indicated the dance area.

Teyla laughed as she looked towards the wildly dancing scientist. "He seems to be enjoying himself. Is that Mr Woolsey beside him?" She asked with a surprised frown.

"I think so," John replied with a laugh. Charin stirred in his arms. Despite the music and excitement around her, Charin slept happily. She had had a busy day after all. John turned to his wife. For the first time all afternoon there was no one looking to talk to them. Everyone was relaxed; dancing or talking away around them.

"So, Mrs Sheppard…" He began, enjoying the sound and the possessive feeling it provoked in him. "I believe there was one more tradition we needed to complete."

She looked away from the dancing, her eyes bright in the dusk light and flickering torches. "There is, though we will need to leave Charin with someone." He stood up with her and they headed towards the Sitter's tent. It took awhile as they were stopped by people who wanted to congratulate them again, or look at Charin.

They eventually made it to the Sitter's tent and handed Charin over to Kerra, who already had a nice little area set up with small beds and cribs for the kids. John noticed that Torren was not among the kids sleeping or playing, but was instead dancing with Kanaan. The boy's dancing style consisted of bobbing at his knees and waving his hands. "We gonna to be long?" John asked Teyla, wondering if she should say good night to her son.

Teyla handed the baby bag over to Kerra. "No, not too long. We wouldn't want to miss the end of the night."

Charin happily settled in a crib and under Kerra's care, Teyla led him away from the dancing area. They passed Ronon, who was still talking and exchanging fighting moves, though slightly too loudly, no doubt from the influence of the ruus wine. Teyla's hand was warm in John's as she pulled him willing onwards, out of the open area, but instead of turning towards the tents as he had been hoping, she carried on towards the small path to one side of the camp.

"Where we going?" He asked with amusement.

She looked back over her shoulder at him. "It is customary for a new couple to see out the day alone together. To walk alone through the forest together."

"Sounds good," John replied with a smile as she pulled him on, down the small path and then off and into the light forest.

The trees surrounded them and the music faded behind them, the light of the torches blocked by the thick trunks of the trees. Teyla kept on moving through the trees, pulling him along. John took in the fresh scent of the forest. The damp cooling air around him was thick with life and vegetation, which couldn't have been further from the world Charin had been born on. The dry, pale rocky land had seemed devoid of life other than one type of tree and those big insects they had hunted for meat. This world, a world like the one Teyla grew up in, was lush and full of life. He watched her now as she moved through that world; her hair falling from its high knot to swing down to her shoulders. Her white dress was bright among the dark trees, and in contrast to the deep colour of the cloth wrapped around her left arm.

They reached a natural gap in the trees and paused. The blazing red colours of the dying suns shone through the silhouetted trees trunks. John stared at the beautiful sight, the forest quiet around him. This really couldn't be more different than that hellish world had been.

"You remember those succulent trees back on the planet from Hell?" He asked her, his voice quiet, like they were in a church or something.

"Yes." She replied as she pulled her hand from his. He turned to her as she moved only a few inches away, to stoop down to pick a small white flower that had been partly broken.

"I missed trees, proper trees like these," John said as he looked up at the dark canopy above them. "Do you miss living somewhere like this?" He asked, looking back down at her. She was moving away from him, her steps idle and relaxed, and he followed her through the ferns and bracken between the trees.

"At times I do, though I love living with the ocean around us on Atlantis." Her voice was soft and sleek, like the panels of her dress that swung around her legs as she walked. He followed her on through the trees, enjoying the sight of her hips and toned figure, dressed in her beautiful wedding dress.

"I used to walk off into the forest when I was younger," she was saying. "My father would be so angry with me when I returned. He must have been so worried about me."

"But, you went anyway," John uttered as he trailed her through a natural path in the vegetation.

"I did. I enjoyed the time alone. It was always peaceful in the forest."

She paused and he gathered she had found wherever it was she had been leading him towards. There was less undergrowth here, as the trees blocked out most of the sky above. Through the trees there was the perfect view of the distant suns setting. A fallen tree provided a bench to sit and watch. He reached the tree bench before she could sit and caught her arm.

"You'll get your dress dirty," he offered with a smile as he sat down and pulled her towards him. She smiled as she settled herself across his lap.

"Thank you."

"Anything for my wife." John replied as he wrapped his arm around her back and slid his other hand over her lap. She leant down the small distance between them and kissed him lightly, her fingers trailing over his chin.

"So…" he asked, his voice deeper than he intended. "So this custom; do we just sit out here?"

She smiled, her fingers still caressing his chin. "We watch the suns set together, and tomorrow will be our first full day together as a bonded couple." She whispered as she leant in and kissed him again.

The kiss was soft and he murmured as she pulled her lips from his. He looked up at her, the bright dying light of the suns shining around her face.

"The first of many," she whispered to him and they smiled at each other, before she turned, looking along her shoulder to the distance suns.

John pulled his eyes away from her golden skin and the highlighted red of her hair. One sun was almost gone, leaving a distant glow behind it. The last sun hovered over the horizon for what felt like an eternal moment. John watched it, taking in the magical colours. The forest was darkening and silent around them, the air still and refreshing. Teyla's body was warm over his lap, against his chest where she leant her side against him and one of her arms was draped around his shoulders.

The last rays held on the horizon and then faded down. The sounds of the forest around them became abruptly louder and Teyla's turned to him, her arms sliding around him. He met her lips as she leant into him. This kiss was deep and passionate, and he pulled her tightly to him, his body humming with need for his wife.

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TBC


	64. Charin

**Chapter:** 64 - Charin

**Part**: 64/64

**Note:** Final chapter at last. Thank you to all who have stuck with me from the start of this very long involved fic, and thanks to those who joined me along the way. Your reviews have kept me going. So here, finally, is the final chapter, though I'm sure I will revisit this AU would, for there's loads of more fun to be had. Wedjatqi X

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They looked the same to her as she studied the photo. They were posed more formally than she had ever seen them, but then it was an important photo. They stood before the Stargate, the sparkling colours of the Gate room's glass windows shining down on them through the metal circle. Charin passed her fingers over the picture, over Mother's beautiful dress and Dad's smart uniform. She had only seen him in that uniform once or twice, and she knew he didn't really feel all that comfortable in it. But, he looked comfortable and happy in the photo.

She lifted the heavy page of the album and turned over it over. The next photo had been taken in the same place, but now all her aunts and uncles were lined up beside her parents. The photo opposite though was her favourite of the wedding photos; for she and Torren were in the next one. It was strange to see Torren so young and herself so small to be able to fit easily into Mother's arm.

"Antos!" A slightly pudgy finger dropped onto the photo.

Charin smiled at her baby brother who was snuggled beside her on the couch.

"Yes, Jake. Atlantis," she said to him, sounding out the correct pronunciation.

"An…tos," Jake mumbled as he withdrew his hand from the album.

Charin leant right into Jake's warmth and leant down to him. "But, remember, it's a secret." She lifted her right index finger to her lips and made the Shh noise they all used to joke around. Jake giggled as he pressed his own finger to his lips and shh'ed loudly.

Charin turned the next page in the album. It was a private family album that they all knew was never to be shown, let alone discussed, with another outside of the family and close friends. It was kept locked away in the safe in Dad's office, but Dad or Mother were always happy to pull it out when asked. Charin loved to look through it, though there were plenty of pictures around the house of everyone and even a different version of the wedding photo. That photo had been carefully taken so that nothing that could identify the Gate room could be seen, but Charin could still tell it was from there. She was surprised that Jake recognised even the secret version. He had been so small when they had moved out of the city.

Charin smiled as Jake leant forward to peer at the next photo. Charin didn't want to know anything about what Mother and Dad got up to in the night, but she did know that Jake had been a surprise for them and his arrival had seemed to fascinate Uncle Carson for some reason. Jake was ten years younger than Charin and almost eight years younger than their sister Elizabeth. Not that the surprise had stopped Mother and Dad doting over Jake. He was very spoiled in Charin's opinion, but then he was pretty cute.

She wrapped her arm around her little brother and cuddled him against her. All the family loved cuddles and Jake took full advantage of that fact. It was his weapon against all the family if he even suspected he was in trouble for something. He wasn't in trouble too often, but once he had learnt to talk, which was earlier than normal Dad still repeated proudly, Jake had not stop talking since. He jabbered on all the time, following Mother especially, for she was the quietest of the family. He followed her everywhere, talking away, and she had literally almost fallen over him several times. Not that Mother fell over anything, but it had almost happened, and had ended up the subject of much teasing for her for weeks afterwards.

Charin looked over her shoulder, over the back of the couch towards the wide patio doors through which she could see Mother and Dad seated on a lounger chair together out on the back porch. They seemed to always want to watch the sun set together, and it was a common sight to see them cuddled up. They used to take everyone out to sit along the west pier on Atlantis to watch the sun set. Charin missed those evenings, watching the sun sink down, sitting all together in the sea scented breeze. Charin missed Atlantis.

It had been Dad's promotion that had meant they had to move, though Dad had also said it was important that she go to school. Charin hadn't understood why that was so important. She had always had lessons from people in Atlantis, learning straight from the top scientists of different fields, as Uncle Rodney always said. Uncle Rodney had left Atlantis many years before them, but he always visited. In her opinion she had learnt all she needed from her uncles and aunts. She had basic understanding of medicine, physics, biology, good fighting skills and she could read and write in three languages, though admittedly one was Athosian which she was not allowed to even mention on Earth. But, she and Mother used Athosian to leave messages for each other in the house. It was a game that Charin really enjoyed and she thought Mother did as well.

Charin had made that argument to Dad, that she had been taught all she needed, but he had insisted she needed an 'Education', and Mother had agreed. With Dad's new position in charge of some new Flight Base, they had had to leave the city and live on Earth. The only good thing Charin had liked about that was that Uncle Rodney was closer, since he worked half his time in Dad's Base.

She still remembered those first days she started school. She had been shown around it by a senior teacher, who had talked most of the time to Dad and Mother all about the school's high success rate and all that. Charin hadn't liked the empty halls, as they had reminded her of the hallways of Atlantis in the evenings when everyone else was asleep. The teacher had assured Charin that once term started the hallway boards would be filled with bright colourful paintings and project work. But, it had been the sports facilities that had begun to change Charin's mind about the place. It was a massive complex, with two basketball courts, a swimming pool and a track outside. All that and the tennis courts, volleyball pitch and a wide open pitch had stolen Charin's breath. She hadn't known there could be so much space for sport in one place! Dad had winked at her and she had been sold on the idea from then onwards.

The first day of school had been a bit weird though. As she had never been to a school before, Dad had made sure to tell her everything about how to survive in one. Most kids would have been in a school for years by her age, and she hadn't been around so many kids in one place before. Dad had driven her there himself, that first day, and had walked her in to meet the other new kids who would join in with the classes later. The school buildings had been transformed from the quiet empty hallways from the holiday period; instead there had been hundreds of kids of all different ages, all different and all grouped up into their little clans. Charin had been very nervous as she had followed Dad and the teacher into the gym, where the other new kids had been gathered. Charin had taken one look at the nervous expressions on all their faces, and equally on their parents', and she had relaxed; everyone felt the same. She had walked into the new group of potential friends and introduced herself. From that moment onwards she had forgotten her nerves. Dad had left her there with a smile and a thumbs up, and that first day had sailed by.

She had met so many interesting people and had quickly worked out the hierarchy of the school. She had never been teased even from that first day, but then uncle Ronon had taught her how to carry herself to make sure people knew she could defend herself. She had loved every class and had been thrilled to discover that she already knew most of the content of those first classes. Her teachers were very pleased with her and she found the classes easy enough and those areas she hadn't known much about, such as Earth history and its many religions, she had found fascinating. Dad had been waiting to take her home that day, rather than her taking the bus on her first day. She had talked all the way home and all evening about school and she hadn't looked back.

The only thing she didn't really like about living on Earth was that they didn't get to see Torren as much. She missed her big brother all the time, but especially now for they had just come back from a visit to Atlantis and the Athosian camp. Charin had loved that long two week holiday there, and it had been the height of Athosian summer. She and Torren had adventured into the forests together like they had always done. Aunt Kerra and Uncle Kanaan's son Sarum had grown, but being closer to Elizabeth's age had spent most of his time with her.

Charin had loved sitting up, once again, late into the night listening to Halling's stories. She hadn't wanted to leave and had felt really sad for days after they had come back to Earth. And Mother always seemed sad when they left Torren, but the great news was that next month Torren would be coming to Earth to stay with them for at least a whole month. It would be well into summer here by then and she and Dad had begun to plan places to take Torren. He had been to Earth before, but only in short visits and of course there had been those three months many years ago when Atlantis had been on Earth. Dad had bought some games for the garden already, his excitement obvious. 'Team Sheppard' would be back together. Torren always reminded him, with a smile, that it should be 'Team Emmagan Sheppard', but Dad said his version was punchier. Charin was really looking forward to it.

Jake was trying to lift the next page, eager to look on to the next photos. He knew the photos with him in were more to the back of the thick album and was always impatient to get to them. Charin looked back over her shoulder to the garden to see that the light was changing colour. She turned back to Jake.

"Shall we go and see Mother and Dad?" She asked him.

He looked up from his exaggerated attempts to get to the last pages of the album. "Yeah!" He said with enthusiasm before he began to climb off the couch.

Charin closed the album, leaving the later photos to look at later. She carried the heavy book back over the safe.

"In Kitchen," Jake muttered, his voice heading away out of the room.

"No, Jakey," Charin called to him as she quickly closed the safe door. "They're outside in the garden."

Jake stopped in the doorway and looked back. "Garden?" He asked.

Charin stood up and pointed to the patio doors. "See they're in the garden, shall we go find them?" She asked him.

"Yeah!" He said as he turned with buzzing excitement and ran out of the door. She followed him down the hallway. "In de garden," Jake was muttering. "Like garden. Twees," he added as he turned into the dinning room that led to the back door.

"Yes, there are trees in the back garden," Charin replied automatically. Jake didn't seem to mind if you talked back to him, he just kept on telling you whatever was on his mind.

"Shadey twees," he uttered as he reached the backdoor, which was a split door, so that the top half was open, but the lower half was bolted closed. Jake pushed against the lower door, forgetting that he couldn't open it himself and that it opened inwards anyway. "Twees in the shade better," he was mumbling as he finally remembered he couldn't push the door and looked up to the bolt. Charin reached him before he could try and reach up and release it himself. He had loved the Athosian camp and had picked up a wealth of new material to talk about, including the benefit of sitting in the shade of trees when it was hot and sunny.

"It's not sunny out there now, Jakey," Charin told him as she pulled open the bolt in the right way that Mother had shown her. She swung open the half door and Jake rushed out in delight.

Charin pulled the door closed behind her and pulled the bolt across to stop Jake wandering back inside when no one was watching.

"Hey, Trouble." She heard Dad greet Jake. "What you been up to?"

Charin headed over the back porch, watching as Jake began to climb up onto the lounger Dad and Mother where stretched along.

"Otos," Jake muttered with effort as he finally got himself, with Dad's subtle assistance, up onto Dad's lap and Mother spread the blanket that was over her to cover Jake as well. The air was getting colder, but Charin didn't mind.

As Dad and Mother talked away with Jake, though he did most of the talking as usual, Charin made her way down the steps to the lawn. Elizabeth was sitting in the last patch of sunlight on the lawn, her little white hat with plastic flowers on her head still. Elizabeth liked anything with flowers on and she looked over to Charin with a smile. Charin sat down on the still warm steps to the porch and Elizabeth got up, paused to pick up her toys and walked over. Charin looked over her shoulder, realising Jake had stopped talking. He was cuddled up against Dad, turned into Mother's warmth beside Dad and was half asleep. Dad was looking sleepy himself as he laid back with one arm around Mother and the other around Jake.

Elizabeth had reached the steps, but sat down once again on the lawn and used the lowest step as the stage for whatever the game was she was enacting with her plastic horses. Charin set her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands and looked off towards the lowering suns, which Dad and Mother always found so fascinating. The trees at the end of the garden seemed taller and darker in the fading light and Charin imagined creatures living in them.

The sun gradually set on another day of her summer vacation from school. The last colours disappearing from the sky and she heard Mother and Dad stir behind her.

"Right, who wants a cookie?" Dad asked.

Elizabeth's head shot up, her eyes wide. They didn't eat a lot of 'bad sugary food' as Mother referred to it, but occasionally Mother would make a cake or cookies. Charin heard the back door open and Elizabeth shot up the steps.

"Don't forget your toys," Mother called as her voice disappeared into the house.

Elizabeth paused, went back down the steps and carefully with great care picked up each toy in turn, piling them up in her arm. Elizabeth did everything very carefully and usually quietly, like Mother.

"You don't want a cookie?" Elizabeth asked as she passed Charin going up the porch steps.

"I'll have one in a minute," Charin replied. She kind of liked this late time of the evening, when the sun was gone and the night was new. She heard Elizabeth run across the back porch, pausing when there was a thud as one of her horses escaped her arm. The back door shut behind her and the garden was quiet once again.

"You okay, Munchkin?" Dad asked from behind her and she looked up over her head. She hadn't realised he was still there, and she smiled up at him as he peered down at her from directly above.

He stepped down onto the porch steps alongside her and sat down on the top step with her.

"You missing school yet?" he asked.

"No," she told him honestly. She enjoyed school, but she loved being at home. Holiday time was just as much fun for her. Usually she got to see all her uncles and aunts and sometimes, if she was lucky, she got to go with Mother or Dad to a Gate facility. She had been helping Uncle Carson and Uncle Rodney in their latest testing on the Ancient gene and how she and her Dad were so go at manipulating the technology.

She looked up at Dad. He had some grey silver strands to his hair now, but Charin agreed with Mother; it made him look more distinguished. Charin had had to look up that word, but now she knew what it meant she agreed.

"Do you miss Atlantis, Dad?" She asked him.

"Sure, I do," he replied as he looked down at her.

"I miss being able to open doors and turn on the lights," Charin told him. "Sometimes I still forget to turn the light on physically."

Dad laughed at that. "Me too. Though you were a bit of a problem with that whole opening doors thing, when you were younger," he told her.

"I was?" Charin moved closer to him. She loved his stories and she had thought she had heard them all about her childhood. Though, she knew there were plenty of other stories she didn't know about, and would hopefully learn them when she was older. She knew that there were a wealth of stories linked to all those photos in the album and she would catch looks being exchanged between Dad and Mother that told her they were really good stories.

He smiled. "You were just old enough to sit up by yourself and I remember that day because I was on duty dealing with these really difficult people from this planet that had the best waterfalls and prize holiday resort." Charin smiled along with him. "I'm telling you; surf to die for! Anyway, this call comes in from the nursery." There had been a nursery set up in Atlantis when she was little, and she had grown up with a few other kids that had called the city their first home. "She asked me to get down to the nursery when I was free. I got down there as fast as I could, imagining you having fallen over and hit your head or something, but there you were happy as anything sitting with your toys." As usual Dad animated his stories with hand gestures and exaggerated expressions, and if possible, with as much teasing of Uncle Rodney as possible.

"The woman in charge told me that there had been a problem; that you had managed to open the door. Now, of course I look over to the short plastic house there was in there; it had the door and flowers in a fake windowsill?" She nodded as she remembered the house she had played in for years. "I was proud, though surprised that you had managed to open the plastic door, especially as you couldn't even stand yet, but the woman explained that it was the Ancient door to the room that you had opened."

Charin laughed at that and Dad rolled his eyes.

"These poor women had been getting freaked out by the doors opening and closing by themselves. The technicians couldn't find anything wrong with the doors and then this day they realised that it only ever happened when you were there and they had caught you that day sitting facing the door and when it spontaneously opened you were giggling and clapping."

She laughed at the story, and more than a little pleased with her younger self.

"It's funny now, but it scared the hell out of us. We imagined you wandering out into the city by yourself; walking into power cables or falling off a pier. So, I got Uncle Rodney onto it right away. Turns out the Ancients had had the same problem and there was this child proof program that he just had to activate, so that the technology didn't respond to you until you were older. Only that caused another problem, since the technology stopped reacting to some people who had the ATA gene therapy, seems the city thought those genes were like undeveloped Ancient children."

Charin laughed knowing where this story was headed. "Like Uncle Rodney's gene."

Dad laughed, "Exactly. Maybe you should ask him how he fixed the problem next time we see him."

"I will," she said as she leant into Dad's side. He wrapped his arm around her and his warmth chased away the cold night air. "Dad..?" she asked.

"Yes, Munchkin?"

"Will you tell me the story about when I was born again?"

He tightened his arm around her. "Okay, but let's get a cookie to go with it."

"Okay," she replied and together they got up from the step and walked towards the back door through which she could hear Mother talking with Elizabeth. Light was streaming out of the top half of the doorway and she reached up to hold Dad's hand. His larger, strong hand surrounded hers and she smiled up at him. When she grew up she was going to be as cool and strong as her Dad.

"So, there was this alien space station…" He began.

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THE END


End file.
